Sociological theorizing as meaning making: the case of ecological modernization theory

In this paper, I propose a novel way to consider sociological theorizing. I argue that the structural analysis method first developed by French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss provides a powerful tool to deconstruct and critique sociological theories. I propose that this method can be used to redefine certain theories not as sets of proposals from which testable hypotheses are to be derived, but rather as different versions of foundational narratives of Western society. Viewed in this way, sociological theorizing contributes to construct the Western cosmology – the body of tales and narratives that explain the creation of the social world, its relationship with nature, and its future direction. As a case in point, I argue that the narrative of ecological modernization can thus be analyzed and deconstructed using the same tools Lévi-Strauss uses to make sense of native American cosmologies. Doing so, I find that the narrative of ecological modernization developed as a mirror image of older tales of modernization, closely associated with the myth of progress – according to which Western society emerged from a state of nature in which no rational division of labour and no private property existed. This inversion transforms the myth of creation at the heart of the modern Western cosmology into a utopian narrative that finds considerable political traction with a certain part of the business elite and associated organic intellectuals, interested in maintaining existing relations of production and power

Managing the carbon rift: Social metabolism, geoengineering and climate capitalism

The idea that climate geoengineering could be used in conjunction to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid catastrophic climate change has gained credence in both scientific and policy circles. Because of the inherent uncertainty about the risks involved, debates on the topic abound. Scientists agree that more research is needed on both the potential impacts of geoengineering on humans and ecosystems, and the governance mechanisms that would be the most appropriate for conducting field research and for eventual deployment. Despite an explosion of publications in the last decade or so, properly sociological analysis is still lacking. In this paper, I develop an approach to geoengineering based on metabolic rift theory to consider the broad political economic context in which geoengineering technologies are being developed. I argue first that the eventual recourse to such last resort approaches is a consequence of the ever expanding carbon rift created by capitalism and the growth imperative it entails. Second, we discuss how geoengineering technologies would likely be deployed within the context of the neoliberal climate policy regime that is currently in place and that relies heavily on carbon markets. I outline some of the foreseeable consequences of tying geoengineering to carbon markets on greenhouse gas emissions reduction and on the possibility of exerting democratic control over the technologies themselves

Climate capitalism and the global corporate elite network

This paper explores the political involvement of transnational corporations and their directors in elaborating the project of ‘climate capitalism’ advanced to address climate change. Climate capitalism seeks to redirect investments from fossil energy to renewable energy generation, so as to foster an ecological modernization of production and reduce GHG emissions. I use social network analysis to assess the potential for climate capitalism, as a project of a section of the corporate elite, to replace the current ‘carboniferous capitalist’ regime. Corporate-funded climate and environmental policy groups (CEPGs) constitute major venues for the corporate elite to assemble and plan their response to the climate crisis. By mapping out the network of board-level interlocks between CEPGs and the largest transnational corporations, I first find that certain CEPGs are centrally located among the global intercorporate network, and thus well positioned to promote climate capitalism among the corporate elite. Second, I delineate a climate capitalist inner circle that includes the individual members of the corporate community who arguably are able to exert the greatest power to shape climate capitalism. However, many of them, close to the oil and nuclear sectors, may support a long-term transition away from fossil fuels, incompatible with avoiding dangerous climatic warming