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Powerless, Stupefied, and Repressed Actors Cannot Challenge Climate Change: Real Helplessness as a Barrier Between Environmental Concern and Action.

  • Published In: Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 2023, v. 53, n. 2. P. 271 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Gunderson, Ryan 3 of 3

Abstract

There is a gap between concern about environmental degradation such as climate change and effective action taken against the forces that drive degradation. This paper argues that real helplessness, a social condition producing powerless, stupefied, and repressed actors, is a fortified barrier between climate concern and effective climate action. Political‐economic analysis has theoretical and methodological implications for environmental social science and helps explain a current conundrum in critical sociology: Why are alternatives to a system that drives climate change and other catastrophic risks still seen as unrealistic? We suffer from a political‐economic system impervious to transformation before we suffer from a lack of alternative ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour. 2023/06, Vol. 53, Issue 2, p271
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Psychology
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:0021-8308
  • DOI:10.1111/jtsb.12366
  • Accession Number:164064576
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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