4th Edition

Green Political Thought

By Andrew Dobson Copyright 2007
    240 Pages
    by Routledge

    240 Pages
    by Routledge

    This highly acclaimed introduction to green political thought is now available in a new edition, having been fully revised and updated to take into account the areas which have grown in importance since the third edition was published.

    Andrew Dobson describes and assesses the political ideology of ‘ecologism’, and compares this radical view of remedies for the environmental crisis with the ‘environmentalism’ of mainstream politics. He examines the relationship between ecologism and other political ideologies, the philosophical basis of ecological thinking, the potential shape of a sustainable society, and the means at hand for achieving it.

    New to this edition:

    • analysis of an intellectual and political 'anti-environment' backlash
    • an account of sustainability in ecological thought
    • the effect of globalization on ecologism
    • ecological citizenship
    • expanded bibliography.

    Green Political Thought remains the starting point for all students, academics and activists who want an introduction to green political theory.

    Introduction  Part 1: Thinking about Ecologism  1. Sustainable Societies  2. Reasons to Care for the Environment  3. Crisis and its Political-Strategic Consequences  4. Universality and Social Change  5. Lessons from Nature  6. Left and Right: Communism and Capitalism  7. Historical Specificity  8. Conclusion  Part 2: Philosophical Foundations  9. Ethics: A Code of Conduct  10. Ethics: A State of Being  11. Anthropocentrism  12. Hybridity  Part 3: The Sustainable Society  13. Limits to Growth  14. Possible Positions  15. More Problems with Growth  16. Questioning Consumption  17. Energy  18. Trade and Travel  19. Work  20. Bioregionalism  21. Agriculture  22. Diversity  23. Decentralization and its Limits  Part 4: Strategies for Green Change  24. Democracy and Authoritarianism  25. Action Through and Around the Legislature  26. Lifestyle  27. Communities  28. Direct Action  29. Fiscal Incentives and Ecological Citizenship  30. Class  31. Conclusion  Part 5: Ecologism and Other Ideologies  32. Liberalism  33. Conservatism  34. Socialism  35. Feminism  36. Conclusion 

    Biography

    Andrew Dobson is Professor of Environmental Political Theory at Keele University, UK

    'Green Political Thought remains the definitive text on the political ideology of ecologism. Indeed, it has now acquired the status of a classic in the field. In this fourth edition, the distinctive features of ecologism remain as sharply etched as they were in the first edition but Dobson has revised and updated the rich variety of internal debates among green political theorists and activists, including a shift in focus from ethics to politics, and from radical resistance to ‘visionary pragmatism’. - Robyn Eckersley, University of Melbourne, Australia

    'Andy Dobson first made his statement about a green ideology sixteen years ago, and it quickly became the book on environmental political thought, against which all others were compared. In this new edition, (Andy) Dobson's thorough and lucid account of "ecologism" once again sets the standard. It should be the first place to turn for a comprehensive picture of ecological thought and the arguments in the field.' - David Schlosberg, Northern Arizona University, USA