We have investigated manure management practices at three farm scales in Chinese pig and poultry production. The concept of ecological rationality was employed to explore empirically how environmental concerns drive adoption of environmental-friendly manure management technologies at different farm scales. The more developed Rudong County in Jiangsu Province and the less developed Zhongjiang County in Sichuan Province were chosen as cases for study of 258 animal breeders. On the contrary to our hypothesis, medium-scale farmers were not always found to be laggards in adoption of manure management technologies. Government ecological rationality played a key role to induce environmental-friendly technology adoption on its own, but also in cooperation with ecologically rational individual or network drivers. Authorities no longer applied their efforts in a conventional command-and-control way, but more in the form of incentives, stimulation, and information to farmers. Individual farmers in general showed low environmental responsibility in relation to manure handling.
Ecological reasoning has been a subject of discussion for some time now. The earliest references to it dates back to 1983 when John S. Dryzek wrote his article on 'ecological rationality'.3 In this article, Dryzek discussed the problem of collective decision making and argued that 'ecological rationality' is a more fundamental form of reason than all other forms of rationality - political, economic, technical, legal and social4 - and hence should take precedence over them when making collective decisions or public policies.5 Dryzek gave the utmost importance to 'ecological rationality' because he claimed that "the preservation of the life-support systems upon which human beings depend is a precondition to the continued existence of society."6 Although, he argued that ecological reasoning should set the standard of reasoning, he didn't make it clear what ecological reasoning entails. This paper aims to explore the incurrent patterns of 'ecological reasoning' through observations of instances of reasoning by self-claimed ecological reasoners in an ethnographic research. In our in depth interviews (48 owners and managers of greentech and consultancy firms in Portugal and Turkey) some of our interlocutors, self claimed ecological reasoners, said that they need to translate their ecological reasoning into economical reasoning in order to appeal to their customers. In other words, in order to make sense, they need to frame their ecological concerns in economic terms. However, contrary to the clarity of economic reasoning, ecological reasoning manifests in a foggy terrain. What are the characteristics of reasoning pattern that make it ecological? Economic reasoning manifests itself in profit maximization, interest seeking etc. However ecological reasoning is a camelon, the colours oscillates between attributing intrinsic value to nature on the one hand; and it gains the colour of means-end rationality on the other.
First paragraph: I write this review under lockdown amid a global pandemic. So far today (March 25th 2020), the Dow Jones is up 5 percent. Last week trading was suspended following a 13 percent fall. Financial markets across the globe are struggling to price the risk posed by an unprecedented phenomenon. Given this uncertainty, the equity premium puzzle might not look like such a puzzle after all. ; Output Type: Book Review
In the focus of the paper there are some basic insights and ideas of rational choice theory, that is the "core" of contemporary economic theory. Also, rational choice theory is the "center" of modern political science and is used in various other scientific disciplines, such as: sociology, philosophy, political science, psychology and the like. There are two main goals of this paper. One is to point out the limitations of rational choice theory as one of the theories of economic behavior (and decision making). The second goal is to analyze psychological programs of research of heuristics and bias in behavioral economics and to consider the importance of alternative concepts, models and theories from the point of view of improving the understanding of economic and social behavior.
Concerns about immigration are salient in the European Union and in Malta in particular. Previous research has demonstrated deep antipathy towards the Arab community in Malta, and social representations of Arabs are mired in a conflation of ethnic and religious categories with negative connotations. This paper presents evidence of the potency, within the public sphere, of negative arguments from cultural essentialism, concerning the integration of Arabs in Europe. The data was obtained abductively from a data corpus containing positive, mixed and negative arguments about Arabs and their integration. Results show evidence of the almost total exclusivity of cultural essentialism. All such arguments posited Arabic culture as an underlying essence that makes integration with Arabs difficult or impossible, yet different arguments were distinguishable by emphasis. Results pointed towards forms of culturally essentialist views that vary in their emphasis of different aspects of cultural essentialism. Reductionist, determinist, bounded and temporal aspects of cultural essentialism were all emphasised by respondents. The essentialist exceptions to negative arguments from cultural essentialism were extremely few in number and were posed tentatively by participants. Their paucity and manner of delivery give strength to the claim that it is strictly an Arabic cultural essence that is deemed to make integration impossible in the eyes of participants. Findings are discussed in light of the communicative functions that these dominant argumentative strategies fulfill.
Modern economic rationality is an instrumental rationality geared towards the idea of 'progress': the continuous need for wealth production (in quantitative terms). This rationality underscores our political and legal order (amongst others). Law and politics can be said to serve the interests of progress. However, we have become increasingly aware of the side effects this rationality brings about. These side effects can be conceptualised, following the German social theorist Ulrich Beck, in terms of 'modern risks'; they are manufactured uncertainties. Global warming can be considered a modern risk. It is becoming more and more plausible that modern economic rationality and ways of wealth production are contributing factors to global warming and, hence, climate change. It has an impact on water issues in the broadest sense. Climate change poses a threat to the natural environment and carries the potential of catastrophic social consequences. To deal with it implies managing its ecological and social side effects. The question is how. The side effects of economic rationality are countered by another rationality, which one could characterise as 'security' or 'safety' rationality. With this approach we are considered to be in a 'state of exception' - a situation out of the ordinary that demands attention with an aim to return to, or re-establish, the ordinary. The state of exception, as a theoretical concept, suggests an increase of power structures in times of crisis. What is new is that global warming and climate change can be considered as an ecological state of exception leading to a new normality that demands different ways as to how we want to live together in our social and natural environment. In this article I seek to explore the idea of an ecological state of exception as the 'normal' state of affairs, demanding a new rationality and, consequently, ask to what extent a reconsideration of self-evident assumptions that underscore modem contemporary life, economic, political and social is necessary and ...
The present paper considers the implications of the postulate that the activities of scientists constitute complex phenomena in the sense associated with the methodological writings of the Nobel Prize-winning Austrian economist, methodologist, and political philosopher, F.A. Hayek. Although Hayek wrote extensively on the methodology of sciences that investigate systems of complex phenomena, he never addressed the possibility that science itself is such a system. The application of Hayek's method ology of sciences of complex phenomena to science itself implies some minimal criteria for explanations of scientific rationality. If science is complex in Hayek's sense, then scientific belief may be rational in more than one way. It is argued that a failure to recognize the possibility of multiple kinds of scientific rationality contributes to an error theory of certain unsuccessful accounts of scientific belief in the history of philosophy of science. It is further argued that, where ecological rationality is operative, rational belief requires an element of methodological liberty. It is shown that acceptance of the possibility of ecologically-rational scientific outcomes–a view here dubbed methodological liberalism–is closely related to Hayek's denial of the possibility of a successful scientism, a denial crucial to his arguments against socialism and Keynesian macroeconomics.
In a small rural village in the mountains of Northeastern China, a transnational assemblage is building an internationally lauded eco-city. Examining the global dreams for a green "sustainable community" in Huangbaiyu Village opens up a window on to the science of global warming and the ecological rationality to which it gives rise. Taking the site of Huangbaiyu not as a bounded physical location, but a nodal point through which multiple logics, values, and persons converge, I ask: What type of self and society do the structures of the eco-city shape through its spaces of inhabitance and systems of survival? The construction of an eco-city is itself more than a built environment; it is a physical manifestation of a system of values and a record of power. In the name of a shared community of fate, new assemblages of authority and practices of governance are emerging. As scientific models ground political discourse, the name through which authority to act upon a population is invoked is no longer only the state, but also the planet, in which every person has a vested interest and for which every person is responsible. Under these terms, everyday practices of living become subject to judgment, transformation and discipline by persons never met in the name of protecting the planet. In China, the uncertainties of global climate change align with national anxieties over the "three rural problems": agriculture, farmers, and the countryside. In the name of sustainable development, the villagers of Huangbaiyu are again becoming the object of alien ends. This time it is market consolidation, not Communist collectivization that is re-ordering value in the countryside. In the name of protecting a "planet in peril," the villagers of Huangbaiyu would be dispossessed of their access to the natural resources of their valleys. In the name of improving their quality of life, they would be forced into either wage labor or abject poverty.What is at stake in Huangbaiyu is not only of consequence to the persons who have inhabited its spaces, but to all those who are encountering the ethical claims operationalized by ecological citizenship, or are thinking of making such claims on others. Unless attention is focused on what - and who - a new hierarchy of ecological value devalues, an ecological age may prove to be little different from the present industrial age.
The Bear River is driven by a highly variable, snow-driven montane ecosystem and flows through a drought-prone arid region of the western United States. It traverses three states, is diverted to store water in an ecologically unique natural lake, Bear Lake, and empties into the Great Salt Lake at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. People in the Bear River Basin have come to anticipate droughts, building a legal, institutional, and engineered infrastructure to adapt to the watershed's hydrologic realities and historical legacies. Their ways of understanding linked vulnerabilities has led to what might appear as paradoxical outcomes: farmers with the most legally secure water rights are the most vulnerable to severe drought; managers at the federal Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge engage in wetland farming and make unlikely political alliances; and, increased agricultural irrigation efficiency in the Basin actually threatens the water supply of some wetlands. The rationality of locality is the key to understanding how people in the Bear River Basin have increased their adaptive capacity to droughts by recognizing their interdependencies. As the effects of climate change unfold, understanding social-ecological system linkages will be important for guiding future adaptations and enhancing resilience in ways that appropriately integrate localized ecosystem capacity and human needs.
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform in the European Union introduced a new element: greening. The aim of greening is to support the environment and create non-productive value in agriculture. The main element of greening is the Ecological Focus Area (EFA) meaning that a portion of farmland area has to be designed for environmental purposes. This article consists of an evaluatation of greening and its elements in the first year CAP reform has come into force. Surveys were used as a tool to gather information about farm characteristics, ways to meet greening requirements as well as the opinions of farmers as to changes in direct subsidies and greening obligations. The research was conducted in 2015 directly interviewing 290 farmers from the whole of Poland. The farmers interviewed lived in different parts of the country and had different size farms. Data was prepared with the use of spreadsheets and were analysed using the R statistical program and the "gmodel" and "vcd" statistical packages were used during the calculations. Polish farmers are against greening. Greening does not significantly change the way farmers run their farms. They choose the cheapest options of EFA which are usually not the best for the environment. Furthermore, farmers have to bear the cost of introducing the new elements themselves. Despite a high number of environmental and agricultural advantages offered by new farming methods, crop rotation and after-crop sowing duty, CAP reform is assessed in a negative light. As a result of negative opinions held by farmers due to the lack of subsidies, farmers may not continue greening practices in the future.
ABSTRACT Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform in the European Union introduced a new element: greening. The aim of greening is to support the environment and create non-productive value in agriculture. The main element of greening is the Ecological Focus Area (EFA) meaning that a portion of farmland area has to be designed for environmental purposes. This article consists of an evaluatation of greening and its elements in the first year CAP reform has come into force. Surveys were used as a tool to gather information about farm characteristics, ways to meet greening requirements as well as the opinions of farmers as to changes in direct subsidies and greening obligations. The research was conducted in 2015 directly interviewing 290 farmers from the whole of Poland. The farmers interviewed lived in different parts of the country and had different size farms. Data was prepared with the use of spreadsheets and were analysed using the R statistical program and the "gmodel" and "vcd" statistical packages were used during the calculations. Polish farmers are against greening. Greening does not significantly change the way farmers run their farms. They choose the cheapest options of EFA which are usually not the best for the environment. Furthermore, farmers have to bear the cost of introducing the new elements themselves. Despite a high number of environmental and agricultural advantages offered by new farming methods, crop rotation and after-crop sowing duty, CAP reform is assessed in a negative light. As a result of negative opinions held by farmers due to the lack of subsidies, farmers may not continue greening practices in the future.
In his text Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino (1974) describes the fictional city of Baucis, a land suspended in the clouds, in which humans maintain a purposeful and mysterious physical detachment from the earth. Calvino's imagining of Baucis visualises a conceptualisation of humans as divorced from nature1; a lingering residue of the post-Enlightenment obsession with reason and progress that casts nature as separate from and inferior to humans. In the context of the current ecological crisis, in which the perpetual abuse of human and natural resources threatens the sustainability of the planet and all earthly life, reconsideration of the relationship between humans and the non-human natural world becomes profoundly relevant. An overview of contemporary environmental theory, undertaken in the first section of this text, suggests that the widespread understanding of nature as an inferior realm that lacks the full degree of human rationality or culture, is giving way to conceptualisations of the relationship between humans and nature that highlight the interdependence and interrelatedness of all living organisms and systems. Sustainability scholar Stacy Alaimo ( 2010: 15-16) states: At this point in time, with global climate change proceeding even more rapidly than was projected, we hardly have the luxury of imagining any expanse of land or sea as beyond the reach of humanly-induced harm. Matters of environmental concern and wonder are always "here," as well as "there," simultaneously local and global, personal and political, practical and philosophical. This concept of the interrelatedness of global economic, technological, social, cultural and ecological systems, is significant in conceptualising the role that humans play in ecological degradation and exploitation.
The vast majority of environmental problems derive from human action, by dangerously disrupting the natural activity of the biosphere. However, as ecological problems are piling up also a greater ecological awareness is developing in the world, supported by several Non-Governmental Organizations – NGO. These organizations often lead governments in the creation of funds for the protection of ecosystems and endangered species. In fact, although legal regulations put pressure on governments to adopt greener policies, recent history shows that there is still a long way to go, since the ecological question does not obey merely the legal norms, but mainly to individual and community ethical values. This work examines the environmental crisis in the perspective of a real and global problem, linked to the concept of Sustainable Development – SD. It aims to instigate a greater sensitivity to environmental issues in the decision-making entities, encouraging them to be more involved in the adoption of more sustainable development models. The study relies on a critical review of the literature. To understand how it reached to a saturation point of the environment on a global scale, it highlights the environmental crisis and the awakening of consciences to the principles of SD, the hegemonic development of capitalism and the environmental ethics, in the context of carrying capacity of the planet. The environmental ethics and the planet's carrying capacity At the beginning of the new millennium the indicators show that mankind consumes natural resources 50% more than the Earth can provide. The ecological footprint is twice the 1966 ecological footprint (WWF, 2010), requiring 1.5 planets to satisfy the needs of the current society. A sustainable community is generally defined as one that is able to meet their needs without reducing the related odds for the next generations. The Earth resistance limits clearly indicate that as the consumption of energy accelerates more quickly decreases the real time available for species. Thus, an organism that consumes their livelihood faster than the environment produces them has no chance to survive (Tiezzi 1988). Throughout human evolution, it can be found registers of societies whose criteria to satisfaction of needs have their genesis in the carrying capacity of the environment (Fernandes, 2001), connecting to the cosmos and feeling part of it. In these societies, the man is connected by ties of training and information to land, air, water, plants and animals (Branco 1989). Closely linked to the society development is the concept of 'carrying capacity' expression originally proposed by the ecology, indicating the maximum theoretical density of individuals that the environment can support in the long-term (Odum 1997). This concept is much more complex when related to human societies. In fact, in these societies, the carrying capacity takes on a new dimension to incorporate other elements such as technology, accumulated knowledge and the relationship between social groups (Odum, 1997). It shows how human societies have skills to acquire and incorporate natural resources from other environments or societies (Odum, 1997). So, while poor countries cannot meet their needs with their own resources, technological resources and accumulation of knowledge, the rich countries' lifestyle based on high consumption of resources, energy and technology largely exceeded the carrying capacity of their territories. To satisfy their demand, they import energy, goods and services from poor countries, which mean an extension of the carrying capacity promoted by political, economic and even military mechanisms (Odum, 1997). If, for example, each person wishes to achieve the lifestyle of an American, it would not be possible to accommodate the entire planet's population. Americans represent 4% of world population, but consume 33% of energy and natural resources of the world (Medina, 2010). In the begin of this millennium the developed countries represented less than 25% of the world population, but consuming 75% of all the energy produced, 70% of fuels, 85% of timber and 72% of steel (Kraemer, 2003). This development model requires high rates of rejection of waste and effluents. Therefore, while developed societies perform as a model for all other societies, it rejects the maintenance of the natural system which systematically is destroyed (Medina, 2010). There have been several discourses grounded in ethics and solidarity to deal with the ecological crisis. Arruda (1998) appeals to the logics of the 'solidarity socio-economy', of the 'being' and the 'enough', as opposed to the logic of the 'big', of the 'only has value who owns' and the 'unlimited growth'. Similarly, Fernandes (2001) considers the 'ethics of the necessary', a reflection on what is the quality of life and the individual and social needs and desires, given the physical limits of the Earth, the technological uncertainties and the prospective of reducing inequalities between people. Acselrad (2006) argues that the 'discourse of efficiency' is the dominant model in liberal economies; the remaining ones correspond to alternative proposals to achieve sustainable development, all having the same common denominator – the reduction. Main findings Development is a geographical, vast, dynamic and constantly changing concept. What seems to be transversal to all communities is ensuring an improvement project of life quality. Thus, in every time and place, each social group acquires and adapts the resources according to their beliefs, values, culture, social organization and the dominant economic system. In the last half of the twentieth century, societies assumed the development as a right, and the governments were responsible for achieving it. However, the economic centred models that were adopted resulted in extreme inequalities between world northern and southern countries. Overall, cultural diversity was despised and adjusted to global hegemonic model, turning people into monocultural societies. The ecology radically reproves the rationality of modern society and the prevailing economic ideology, and various thinkers claim that the current capitalist expansion stage will result in further increase in social inequalities, injustices and intense devastation of nature. Even so, the socio-political dynamic continues incompatible with the carrying capacity of the planet, compromising the quality of life of future generations. Therefore, it is necessary to change mentalities and to promote an ethical attitude of respect for nature, as advocated by the world summits, environmental NGO and science, in order to test a new paradigm of social organization.
The debates on the evolution and impact of agriculture on health, on the natural or socioeconomic environment lead us to consider agri-environment issues as socially acute questions (SAQs). The agro-ecological transition towards a more sustainable system, supported by the political authorities, faces a lock-in socio-technical system. Maintaining a teaching of intensive agriculture contributes to this socio-technical lock in. The teaching of socially acute questions can contribute to unlocking to move towards agro-ecological transition, firstly, through innovative educational engineering and participatory learning which constitute niches for innovation and secondly, by entering teaching in a socio-technical landscape within late modernity. Late modernity obliges to distance from the idea of progress or rationality and to consider the political and economic dimensions, uncertainties and risks and the values in agri-environmental issues.
Purpose: The objective of this paper is to examine five problems related to the behavioral economics. Design/Methodology/Approach: Logical reasoning based on relevant literature. Findings: Behavioral economics suffers from a few shortcomings that put the contribution of this research subfield into economics in question. First, it claims that people are not rational and that this discredits neoclassical economics, which is based on the homo economicus model. However, behavioral economics wrongly interprets homo economicus as a psychological model instead of an analytical device. Second, despite criticizing homo economicus as an inaccurate depiction of human behavior in the real world, behavioral economics wrongly adopts it as a normative standard. Third, it confuses individual (constructivist) with systemic (ecological) rationality, thus committing the fallacy of composition. Fourth, behavioral economics erroneously considers people's irrationality as an argument for government interventions. Fifth, their research agenda leads behavioral economists to see biases even where there are none. Practical Implications: Policies based on behavioral economics might be not adequate. Originality/value: Thorough the examination of few important shortcomings of the behavioral economics neglected in the literature. ; peer-reviewed
