The Environment Between Theory and Practice

Download or read book The Environment Between Theory and Practice written by Avner de-Shalit and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2000-03-10 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 several directions in environmental ethics can be at odds with the contemporary political debates surrounding environmental politics. He then goes on to examine the environmental scope of the political theories of liberalism, communitarianism, participatory democracy, and socialism, and concludes that the last two are crucial for protecting the environment.