Page 202 - Contemporary Political Sociology Globalization Politics and Power

188 Citizenship

The extension of rights has been linked historically to the expansion of
the capitalist economy. While some representatives of the green movement
see concern for the environment as compatible with capitalism, all agree
that economic growth is unsustainable in the long - term interests of the
environment. There is, then, uncertainty over whether states could meet
demands for expanding social rights (given the political will to do so), for
example, at the same time as environmentalist demands to curb capitalist
exploitation and despoliation of environmental resources. Developing
alternative measures to GDP that would include assessment of environ-
mental damage is crucial to beginning debates over the changes that are
needed for a sustainable economy and how they are to be managed for
the good of all (Giddens, 2009 : 65 – 7).
On the other hand, however, the environmental movement does
share appreciation of the importance of public goods with other social
movements. Of course, the most important of these are the natural
goods we enjoy in common in living on Earth, but it is the way in which
they are managed that is important for citizenship. In keeping with neo -
liberalization, market solutions to environmental problems are now
prominent. It is possible, for example, to pass on the costs of sustainable
development to the consumer. A simple example is the decision taken by
all large supermarkets in the UK in recent years to stop giving out free
plastic bags to shoppers. The main problem here is that, although this is
virtually guaranteed to change behavior , it may not do much to change
long - term attitudes to the environment. The same supermarkets, for
example, continue to sell goods wrapped in huge amounts of plastic,
paper, and cardboard. It is true that most of this wrapping can be recy-
cled, but creating, transporting, storing, and then recycling such a mass

of packaging is hardly energy efficient. There is, however, no public cam-
paign against this practice. Although market incentives have a role to play
in creating a sustainable economy, then, they do not necessarily generate
fundamental changes in how we live (Dobson and Bell, 2006 ). In skepti-
cism about the role of markets, and in seeking to bring more social and
economic life within the domain of public, rather than private decision -
making, environmentalism is consistent with the cultural politics of other
movements for expanding citizenship.
Third, although there are certainly potential tensions between democ-
racy and environmental responsibility, in practice greater participation in
political life is currently needed in order to make environmental citizen-
ship a reality. Steward (1991) suggests that citizens should be involved
with experts in assessing the environmental risks that directly affect
them, and how they should be tackled. This is already practiced in the