Climate change is an issue that crosses boundaries: whether it be effecting communities across borders, or changing the economy. As it is such a multifaceted issue, climate change can not be responded to like global problems in the past; it requires breaking the status quo and shifting how we think about social rules. In Who Rules the Earth? by Paul Steinberg, social rules are described as “invisible to our most powerful satellites and microscopes alike,” (Steinberg 2015, 12) they shape how we live our everyday lives without us even realizing it. Why do you say “hello, how are you?” when you greet someone, without really caring about their answer? Why do we hide eggs and eat bunny shaped chocolate on Easter? Steinberg argues these social norms have intense power, and shape how our political and social systems work, and determine who has power. He believes that changing social rules made by institutions can effectively better the outcome of climate change.
The way that society has reacted to climate change thus far has been through the idea that small changes have a big impact. Steinberg argues that “solutions that promote green consumerism and changes in personal lifestyles strike many of us as strangely out of proportion with enormous problems like climate change, urban air pollution, and the disappearance of tropical forests” (Steinberg 2015, 5). To recycle your empty soda can is to play your part for the environment, and biking to work will have a big impact on carbon emissions. Individualism, as constructed by our society, will not save the environment.
Social rules are powerful to the American teenager, and I feel them in my life everyday. There are reasons I speak to my friends in different terms than my professors, and reasons why its acceptable to sing in the shower of my dorm, but not in the library. Reading Who Rules the Earth was very validating in that sense, as I could fully comprehend the power of these social rules in shaping how we can conquer climate change.
Unfortunately, changing these social norms is more dramatic than singing in the library. But there are solutions. Steinberg argues that we need to reform global institutions. He uses examples such as the European Union, which works together to bolster economic, environmental, and social factions of life, to show that it is possible to create societal change across cultural boundaries.
Climate change causes issues across boundaries, but that means that the common goal of bettering climate change crosses boundaries too. Creating social change under a common goal is far easier than finding compromise between two warring countries. Steinberg’s book has given me hope that social rules have the potential to be a viable solution to such a multifaceted issue.
Works Cited
Steinberg, Paul F. 2015. Who Rules the Earth?: How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.