socio-ecological systems: moving beyond the human exemptionalist paradigm
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Socio-Ecological Systems
Moving Beyond the Human Exemptionalist Paradigm
Andrew R. Jones, PhD
Department of Sociology
CSU Fresno
Anthropocentric analysis
• Human Exemptionalist Paradigm: – Humans are exempt from laws of nature– Humans have “special attributes” that make them
different from other species (such as??)– Human technology can overcome limits
• “Prometheanism” – pro-technological, anti-ecological views
• “Cornucopianism” – belief that continued progress and provision of material items for humankind can be met by similarly continued advances in technology
Anthropocentric analysis
• Human Exemptionalist Paradigm: dominant within the social sciences until the 1960s– Figure 1.1: mainstream
economic models– Figure 1.2: mainstream
sociological models
Figure 1.1
Figure 1.2
Paradigm shift
• New Ecological Paradigm– Figure 1.3:
Environmental sociological model
– Modern society is unsustainable
Figure 1.3
From HEP to NEP
• New Ecological Paradigm– There are ultimate limits to
• Population• Economic growth
• Science-driven analysis; not ideological
Treadmill of Production
• Allan Schnaiberg– Access to translated works
by Nicholai Bukharin and other Russian scholars who addressed dialectical materialism in Marxism
• Analysis of “societal-environmental dialectic” and “treadmill of production” rooted in Marxist political economy
Treadmill of Production
• Theoretical framework– Captures dynamics of market forces, political
institutions interacting to produce ecological disorganization
• Accumulation of wealth and investments in capital-intensive technologies produces increasing social inequalities and greater ecological “withdrawals” (resource extraction) and “additions” (pollution)
Metabolic Rift
• John Bellamy Foster– Analysis of Marx’s
Capital• Marx studied the work
of soil scientist Justus von Liebig
– Crisis in soil fertility generated by urbanization
– Incorporation of Second Law of Thermodynamics
Metabolic Rift• Metabolic rift in the most general sense refers to a
disruption in the exchange between social systems and natural systems, which is hypothesized to lead to ecological crisis.
• Rift analyses have recently grown in prominence among social scientists, particularly in sociology, being extended to analyses of the carbon cycle, fisheries, and caloric intake
Dialectical Materialism
• Dialectics “is nothing more than the science of the general laws of motion and development of nature, human society and thought.” ~ Friedrich Engels
• Put simply, it is the logic of motion– This logic applies to all forms of scientific analysis– Provides a common theoretical framework for
examining social, biological, and ecological systems – a socio-ecological systems approach
Long-term press
Short-term pulse
Ecosystem Services
BioticStructures
EcosystemFunctioning
A model of social, biological, and environmental interaction
Source for model: Integrative Science for Society and Environment: A Strategic Research Initiative
External Drivers
HumanCognition,Behavior,
andInstitutions
HumanOutcomes
ULTRA-FACES
• Examining the interaction of human and biotic structures through an analysis of water usage and its impacts on biodiversity– Fresno: water metering taking place now– Facts: 51% of water – residential use, 70%
used for landscaping• What impacts will metering have on human water
use behaviors?• What impacts will metering have on biodiversity?
Long-term press(water use)
Short-term pulse(water metering)
Ecosystem Services(nutrient cycling, climate regulation, food, water, habitat, cultural benefits)
EcosystemFunctioning
(species interaction, metaboliccycles, gene flow)
An SES model of water use and impacts on biodiversity
Source for model: Integrative Science for Society and Environment: A Strategic Research Initiative
External Drivers(Water availability, Water policies)
Animal Diversity
LULCPlant
Diversity
Individual
Identity•Cultural•Social•Psycho-logical
Socioeconomic
Status
Education/Environ.
Awareness
CivicMinded-
ness
LegalRights/Limits
Institutional
MeteringMonitoring/
Enforcement
H2Opricing
Economicconditions
Infrastructuredecisions
Land usedecisions
H2O usepolicies
Social component
• Use of Fresno Bird Count observation sites– Collect plant and
social data
• Site selection had to account for municipal and county water jurisdiction in addition to socio-economic status
ReferencesAngus, Ian. (2009) Marx, Engels and Darwin: How Darwin’s theory of evolution confirmed
and extended the most fundamental concepts of Marxism. South Branch PublicationsCatton, William and Riley Dunlap. (1978) “Environmental Sociology: A New Paradigm.”
American Sociologist, 13: 41-49Engels, Friedrich. (1940) The Dialectics of Nature. International____. (1947) Anti-Dühring. Herr Eugen Dühring’s Revolution in Science. Progress
Publishers Foster, John Bellamy. (1999) “Marx’s Theory of Metabolic Rift: Classical Foundation for
Environmental Sociology.” American Journal of Sociology 105(2): 366-405 Foster, John Bellamy. (2000) Marx’s Ecology. Monthly Review PressGould, K., David Pellow and A. Schnaiberg. (2008). The Treadmill of Production: Injustice
and Unsustainability in the Global Economy. Paradigm Publishers Levins, Richard and Richard Lewontin. (1985) The Dialectical Biologist. HarvardLewontin, Richard and Richard Levins. (2007) Biology Under the Influence: Dialectical
Essays on Ecology, Agriculture, and Health. Monthly Review PressMarx, Karl. (1976) Capital: Vol. I. Vintage BooksSchnaiberg, Allan. (1980) The Environment: From Surplus to Scarcity. Oxford University
Press
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