The State in Environmental Management: The Ecological Dimension
| Published date | 01 March 1989 |
| Date | 01 March 1989 |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9248.1989.tb00263.x |
| Author | K. J. Walker |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Political
Studies
(1989),
XXXVII,
25-38
The State
in
Environmental Management:
The Ecological Dimension
K.
J.
WALKER
Grijith
University
A
focus on ‘modern’ industrialized societies obscures both the great antiquity
of
the
state and the powerful selective pressures that have led
to
the dominance of interstate
competition, especially warfare. In pursuit
of
power, elites encouraged population
growth and intensified the exploitation
of
the natural resource base, with progressively
more severe ecological impacts. Modern technology has vastly amplified the problem.
Though it makes possible sophisticated environmental management, that has been
neglected for the demands of the military-industrial system. These ill-effects are
reinforced by ignorance
of
ecology and inadequacy of traditional political thought.
A
major adaptive challenge faces modern states: to
use
their knowledge and resources for
more humane, environmentally sensitive management and perhaps achieve a novel
kind of steady state, or to renew emphasis on short-term competitive considerations.
Introduction
State-sponsored economic growth is widely identified as a source of environ-
mental stress. Yet contemporary critiques of economic growth often stress
endogenous causes, such as capitalism
or
the mechanisms of political democracy,
even though powerful growth pressures inherent in all state societies long predate
both. Furthermore, little attention has been paid to the record of the state as a
manager
of environmental impact, despite an abundant literature, especially in
anthropology and history, treating many aspects of the structure, performance
and dynamics of state societies in their 9,000-year history and significantly
reinforcing some recent trends in the theoretical understanding of the state.
The state evolved and continues to develop in response to ecological pressures.
Selective
processes, involving intersocietal and later interstate competition,
especially through warfare, have led to continuing pressure for technological
innovation and expansion of the productive system. Though it has given
humanity a unique and powerful capacity for environmental modification,
technology does not confer promethean powers and can result in productive
systems becoming trapped in ecological dead ends. Economic growth and
technological innovation, while not intrinsically maladaptive, have an inbuilt
potential to create
or
aggravate ecological stresses. Contemporary environ-
mental problems frequently recapitulate past predicaments of
just
this kind.
Environmental problems
-
resource shortages, adverse environmental impacts
and trade-offs between carrying capacity and life-style, not to mention less
tangible values
-
bear directly
on
the traditional concerns of political science.
Limited resources
or
serious ecological constraints on the range of actions open
0032-3217/89/01
0025-14/%3.00/~
1989
Political
Studies
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