One of the main obstacles to a better understanding and ultimately better solutions to sustainability problems is the lack of theory and methodology for nature - society interaction. Now we have a number of new approaches that have emerged from different origins. They come with their own biases, strengths and weaknesses, but they are interesting attempts to bridge the gap between natural sciences and the social sciences:
1) Ecological economics - links ecology and economics but fails to address issues related to social conditions (power, beliefs ...) (Costanza 1997)
2) Resilience theory - comes out of ecology, where it is a very useful concept, but is increasingly used also when dealing with social systems, or more often linked/coupled social and ecological systems. (Folke et al. 2002).
3) Cultural theory - coined by anthropologist Mary Douglas in the early 1970s. The concept of "clumsy solutions" (actually meaning solutions that function) is based on cultural theory and claims that any successful social organization must be able to accommodate the interests of the four basic types of human behaviour: egalitarian, fatalist, hierarchist, individualist. These types of behaviour are also associated with different views on nature – hence the usefulness in the context of sustainability. (Verweij et al. 2006)
4) Transition theory – mixed origin from technology systems studies, complexity theory, social theories (such as Luhmann (systems theory), Foucault (power)). Here the focus of inquiry is transitions, i.e. social (and technological) change. Why transitions occur or why they don’t occur. In the context of sustainability science we refer to sustainability transitions. (Rotmans et al. 2001)
There might be more interesting approaches, but this is at least a start. I would like to start a discussion on:
- Are these examples useful for improving our understanding? Or do they just add confusion?
- Would you like to suggest other alternative approaches?
- Where are such theories and methodologies taught? In sociology? In ecology?
- Is this a call for a new discipline (sustainability science??) that can develop and apply such new theories and methodologies? Is it a social science? Is it a natural science? Is it something else (what do we call it)?
References:
Costanza, R. (1997). An Introduction to Ecological Economics, CRC Press.
Folke, C., S. Carpenter, et al. (2002). Resilience and Sustainable Development: Building Adaptive Capacity in a World of Transformations. Sustainable Development. Paris, ICSU: 73p
Rotmans, J., R. Kemp and M. van Asselt (2001). "More evolution than revolution: Transition management in public policy." Foresight 3(1): 15-31.
Verweij, M., M. Douglas, et al. (2006). "Clumsy Solutions for a Complex World: The Case of Climate Change." Public Administration 84(4): 817-843.