Sociological Perspectives on Environmental Problems: The Theory of Social Dilemmas and the Theory of Social Control Systems

Abstract

This article presents two basic theoretical perspectives for the sociological analysis of environmental problems, namely, the theory of social dilemmas (TSD) and the theory of social control systems. Today, many ordinary persons are involved in the degradation process of the environment. The TSD can effectively analyze the social mechanisms of this process of environmental destruction. A social dilemma occurs when individual actors’ rational actions pursued in their short-term private interests have long-term cumulative effects which destroy the environment and injure the actors themselves as well as others. Theoretically, the social dilemma represents a paradox of rationality in context of collective goods. The key factor in resolving a social dilemma is to set up adequate social norms in the social control systems. To this end, the interaction of governmental organizations and grassroots social movements plays an important part. Social control systems have two main aspects: administrative system and domination system. The former indicates the system that continuously fulfills administrative tasks; the latter consists of the vertical political system and the stratified structure of “closed benefit zones.” We must find solutions to environmental problems in these two contexts. Today, the social control system over the environment and the one over the economy interpenetrate more and more profoundly. It is necessary to find adequate social norms in the zone of their interpenetration. This requires a forum for public discourse where the society can establish social norms necessary for resolving various environmental problems.

The prototype of the social dilemma is “the tragedy of the commons” (G. Hardin). In order to properly develop the theory of the social dilemmas, I propose to distinguish six other types of dilemmas defined by two dimensions. The first dimension indicates two levels of the prestructured field for action; that is, [A] degradation of the environment by market mechanisms and [B] degradation of the environment through the involvement of ordinary people in prestructured choices. The second dimension indicates three combinations of benefit and harm zones from environmental degradation: [1] equally and mutually self-harming, [2] variably self-harming, and [3] other-harming. These viewpoints define six types of social dilemmas, represented by the following concrete cases: whale fishing (A-1), land subsidence (A-2), industrial waste water (A-3), traffic jam (B-1), automobile exhaust (B-2) and highway pollution (B-3). The TSD provides original principles for clarifying the conditions of and resolving environmental problems produced by each of the six types of dilemmas.