The Meaning of Growth: Anti-Environmentalist Rhetoric and the Defence of Modernity (1) (Routledge Research in Environmental Policy and Politics)

By:

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis
Since the Limits to Growth report was published in 1972 it has been widely known that a commitment to endless growth was putting us on course for environmental disaster—so why have we failed to take decisive political action in the half-century since then? In The Meaning of Growth, Richard McNeill Douglas uses interpretive social science to uncover the cultural roots of political resistance to environmental science and policy.Through a close reading of anti-environmentalist rhetoric the book identifies its idolisation of growth as a defence of a modern (Western-European) world-view, focusing on values of freedom, power, and immortality. The significance of these findings is drawn out by applying the ‘secularisation thesis’, a theoretical account of the development of a modern understanding of reality from a theological world-view to which it is ostensibly opposed. This framework is used to offer a deep interpretation of what is at stake in environmental debate: that to accept there are limits to growth means abandoning crucial elements of a faith in a theodicy of progress that makes life meaningful in a secular age. Douglas concludes by suggesting that the precondition for political action on the environment is a change of philosophical perspective that provides for a sense of meaning in a world of limits.This book should be of interest to academics in the fields of environmental sociology and communications studies, as well as activists interested in understanding the motivations of anti-environmentalist campaigners and how to counter their influence.
Copyright:
2026

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
202 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781040440308
Related ISBNs:
9781003864158, 9781003607632, 9781040440261
Publisher:
Taylor & Francis
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Richard McNeill Douglas. The right of Richard McNeill Douglas to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Social Studies, Language Arts, Politics and Government
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

Reviews

No Rating Yet