Environmental Politics: New Geographical and Social Constituencies

123 Pages·2015·0.816 MB·English

by  Corrado Poli (auth.)

Corrado Poli
Environmental
Politics
New Geographical and Social
Constituencies
Environmental Politics

Corrado Poli
Environmental Politics
New Geographical and Social Constituencies
123
CorradoPoli
ArquàPetrarca
Italy
ISBN978-3-319-17613-0 ISBN978-3-319-17614-7 (eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-17614-7
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2015938604
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Prologue
The argument presented in this book originates both in my academic studies and
from direct participation in environmentalist political campaigns in Europe and in
theUnitedStates.Ielaborateideasbyobservingthewaycitizensact,thelanguage
theyuse,andthevaluesatstake.Ialsocompareobservationsandempiricalresearch
findings with theoretical studies that in part preceded my analyses and influenced
myobservation.
In some cases I joined citizens’ committees and supported their protests. In
others, I participated in negotiations as an expert in urban and environmental
planning.WhenIheldpoliticalofficesorwasdirectlyinvolvedinpolitics,Ioperated
as a decision-maker. Depending on the position you are in, you see problems
from different perspectives so that sometimes they appear very diverse. This does
not mean that you change your mind opportunistically, though every form of
knowledge unavoidably – and inmy case unconsciously – tends toward some sort
of opportunism. Having been in different positions, I had the chance to directly
perceive the numerous aspects of the decision-making processes and the reasons
whypoliticalactorsthoughtandactedverydifferently.
The readings and the mentors that mostly influenced my education drove me
to that scarcely inhabited no-man’s-land lying between political involvement and
intellectual research. I remember a sentence by Francesco Compagna that has
remained engraved in my mind since I was a young grad student searching for
a methodological approach and an intellectual identity. Referring to himself he
said: “Indeed, I’m not a politician and even less an academician: I’m a writer, a
reporter!” Incidentally, he was also elected several times to the Italian Parliament,
served as a minister in the government, published a number of influential essays,
andhasbeenafullprofessorallhislife.Anotherauthorwhoseinfluencehasbeen
fundamental in my education was Albert Hirschman. Although I only spent a few
weeks with him at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, I thoroughly
enjoyed reading his “essays in trespassing,” so called because they cannot be
locatedinonesingletraditionalacademicdiscipline.There’sasimpleandeffective
v
vi Prologue
definition of culture that goes: “culture means to know a little of everything and
everything of something.” Professor Compagna maintained that he knew nothing,
but he was specialized in connecting everything. I myself adopted this approach
knowing that it is at the same time presumptuous and humble. In my civic and
politicalmilitancy,essentiallyinmywholelife,Ihaveneverforsakentheknowledge
gleanedfrommystudies.Atthesametime,myscholarlyandprofessionalresearch
has always been inspired and linked to political and civic commitment of which I
haveneverbeenoblivious.Theattempttobeapoliticianwhilethinkingasascholar
andviceversamaybethesoundestexplanationforwhyIfailedinbothpoliticsand
academia.Withsomesortofcomplacency,letmesuggestthatthishybridposition
helps me to have less biased viewpoints when acting as a politician and hopefully
towritemorethought-provokingreportswheninmyroleasscholar.ThisiswhatI
liketobelieveinordertohelpmecopewithmyseveralfrustrations.
***
Theargumentsandthecasestudypresentedinthisvolumeaimatproposinganew
political environmentalism. The book is addressed both to political actors and to
scholars. The former need to be encouraged to identify new strategies relevant to
the current times instead of repeating old schemes and beliefs that can only lead
to moral and civil decay, not to mention possible political setbacks. The latter
needtogaininspirationandexperienceforproposingnewmind-setsandelaborate
paradigms suitable for application to the political arena. At the end of World War
II, Thomas Mann uttered: “Democracy is thought; but it is a thought applied to
lifeandaction.”Withthissentencehemeanttocriticizeintellectualismthattreats
culture and political action separately. He went on to say (I quote by heart): “No
intellectualinthepre-democraticeraevertookactionintoconsideration,norwhich
kindofactionwouldderiveincasetheirthoughtwasapplied.Itisacharacteristic
ofnon-democraticcountriesthatthethinkingofintellectualsproceedswithoutany
referencetoreality,aspureabstraction,inathoroughseparationofmindfromlife
itself,andwithouttheleastconsiderationfortherealconsequencesofthinking.”I
alsorecallasentencethatGiuseppeDeRita–atonetimemybossatCENSISand
aprominentItaliansociologist–onedaytoldmedistractedly:“yourideaisgoodif
itwilleventuallyproducesomeeffect;ifitremainsamereidea,itmeansitwasnot
agoodone.”
***
With this essay, I want to fill a gap in the environmentalist literature of the last
25 years. My goal is to elaborate a radical environmentalist political discourse.
Some sections of this book are broadly revised editions of articles and chapters
published in Human Geography: A New Radical Journal (Poli 2010, 2012, 2014)
and in the introduction of Mobility and Environment. Humanists vs. Engineers
in Urban Policy and Professional Education (Poli 2011). Part II includes some
ideasdrawnfromanunpublishedlectureIpresentedattheAnnualMeetingofthe
Association of American Geographers in Los Angeles, 2014, where I was invited
to participate, thanks to a grant awarded by the same AAG and by the Geography
Prologue vii
Department at Clarke University. Chapter 11, in Part III, is the elaboration of my
project for an International Master’s Program in Sustainable Urban Management:
Communication, Economics and Social Science for Innovative Managers and
AdministratorsthatIdesignedanddirectatLiberaUniversitàIULM,Milan(Italy).
Fewrepetitionsinthetextmakeitpossibletoreadsinglechapterswithoutlosing
thebook’soverallmeaning.

Contents
PartI Environment:FromQuandariestoaPoliticalQuestion
1 TheSustainableDevelopmentPseudo-solution ......................... 3
SustainorProgress? ......................................................... 3
TheQuestforaNewEnvironmentalIdeology ............................. 4
EnvironmentEntersthePoliticalArena .................................... 5
HowDidWeGettoSustainableDevelopment?............................ 6
2 FromCompromisetoFraud .............................................. 11
FromCompromisetoFallacy ............................................... 11
FromFallacytoFraud ....................................................... 12
TheMissedOpportunityforaNewEnvironmentalistIdeology........... 14
ABikeRouteBesidetheNuclearPlant..................................... 16
3 FourStagesofEnvironmentalPoliticalConsciousness................. 19
AnEpochalDivide........................................................... 19
TheEnvironmentalPoliticalCaseReframed............................... 21
TheFirstStageofEnvironmental(Non-)consciousness................... 22
TheSecond(StillConservative)Stage...................................... 22
AProgressiveShift .......................................................... 23
TheRadicalOption.......................................................... 24
4 FromthePost-PoliticalConditiontoanEnvironmentalistPolity..... 27
DefinitionsofNatureandEnvironment..................................... 27
SustainableDevelopmentandtheScienceAuthority...................... 30
ANewDualismIsNeeded .................................................. 31
Conclusion ................................................................... 34
PartII NewConstituenciesforSocialChange
5 PopulismandEnvironmentalism ......................................... 39
EuropeanPopulistMovements.............................................. 39
ix