The triple problem displacement: Climate change and the politics of the Great Acceleration

Abstract

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges that human societies have ever faced. After a late start, it is by now rather intensely debated and analysed also in the social sciences and humanities, though mostly through overly generic explanations in terms of an instrumental relation to nature, of capitalist expansion drives or of the human longing for comfort. In contrast, this article concentrates on the socio-political transformations since the middle of the 20th century, which have been referred to as the ‘Great Acceleration’ in the use of biophysical resources and in environmental degradation. It provides an analysis of the socio-political mechanisms that brought the resource-intensive path of social development about, showing how Western democratic societies tended to ‘solve’ difficult social problems by means of a triple displacement: onto other societies; onto nature and the planet; and into the future. As an unintended consequence, this displacement politics led to the globalization of resource-intensive development and to a planetary situation in which, at least as it appears in much of current debate, no further displacement is possible. The article concludes with insights for a more adequate approach to social phenomena of large scale and long duration in social theory.

Environmental sustainability practices: A systematic literature review

“…Notwithstanding these global conventions, many countries and regions have implemented additional policies and agreements to address environmental sustainability in various ways. The rise in scholarly work in this domain aided in boosting the consensus of parties to the agreements to better preserve the conditions of the agreements (Scalabrino et al, 2022;Wagner, 2023). Likewise, the adaptation of diverse environmental sustainability conventions was brought to the discussion by diverse schools, evidencing the adaptive management wave in the evolution of sustainable environmental practices.…”

“…Positive impacts may include reduced carbon emissions, resource savings, improved environmental quality, and enhanced corporate reputation (Noiki et al, 2023). Negative impacts may arise from unintended consequences, such as the displacement of environmental burdens to other regions or industries (Wagner, 2023). Additionally, the assessment of sustainability practices should consider equity and social justice aspects, as the benefits and costs of sustainability initiatives are not evenly distributed (Wijsman & Berbés-Blázquez, 2022).…”

Mind the gap(s): Moral philosophy, international law and interpretative historical sociology

“…There was some common background, but a diversity of sources and interpretations from the beginning. Second, the notion of aiming ‘to give an institutionalized reality to the political will aligned with [universal values]’ presupposes a rather unproblematic relation between normative claims and subsequent social transformations (Wagner, 2023b). The historical sociology and social philosophy of ‘the West’ since those revolutions is full of accounts of hubristic overreach, unintended consequences and paradoxes.…”

The lasting significance of viruses: COVID-19, historical moments and social transformations

“…This externalizing approach has historically created global social inequality, environmental destruction and global warming. Problematic as it always has been, furthermore, it requires control over nature and hierarchy over other people that no longer exist today (Wagner, 2023). The second 'great transformation' would be insufficient if it brought 'northern' societies merely back on the trajectory inaugurated by the first 'great transformation ' and if 'northerners' returned to claim this as a model to follow globally.…”