The Environment Between Theory and Practice

Why is there a gap between the questions that environmental philosophers discuss and the issues that motivate environmental activists? The author attempts to bridge this gap by combining tools of political philosophy with questions of environmental ethics and politics. He defends a radical position in relations to environmental protection and social policies in order to put forward a political theory, which is not only philosophically sound, but also relevant to the practice of environmental activism. He argues that attempts to find 'independent' values in nature can be at odds with the contemporary political debates surrounding environmental politics. In the second half of the book, the author examines the environmental scope of several key political ideologies: liberalism, communitarianism, participatory democracy, and socialism.