Introduction
It is difficult to say that Who Rules the Earth? has one central argument; the book is more accurately described as having a general mission to provide a precise and useful account of social rules. Steinberg documents these social rules in the context of a serious attempt to explain the entirety of environmentalism on a surface level. He follows social rules from one stage to the next detailing their various effects on the human existence through examples of theory and policy. Steinberg’s book, in simplest terms, is a compilation of the various effects of institutions and the ways in which the general public respond to social rules. One of the predominant ways in which he discusses these responses is through critique of local vs. global action.
Critique of the Individual
Steinberg begins his discourse of social rules on the descriptive and explanatory levels. Through his definition and naming of various institutions he describes the “roles, rights, and responsibilities” of social rules and how they can potentially play into aspects of human life such as climate change (Steinberg 2015, 27). On a very basic level what Steinberg refers to as the “three R’s” begins to bring into question the misconceptions of individual action towards environmental issues as well as allude to his more instrumental views on global action (Steinberg 2015, 27). He moves on to demonstrate how social rules underscore events and actions around the globe and play a vital role in everything from understanding history to enacting valuable policy (Steinberg 2015, 20-23). These points are best understood through his ongoing discussion of individual versus institutional action because it is the presence of social rules in daily life that dictates the power and validity of the scale of action. For example, institutions such as Greenpeace and even the Environmental Protection Agency push for very small scale individual action such as unplugging your appliances and recycling to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when in reality those organizations should be using their power to inspire large scale institutional change. Steinberg’s critique of individual action stems from this idea and goes on to serve as a basis for his analysis of large scale policy solutions such as cap-and-trade and inequalities in political expansion. This being said, his assessments do not simply spout information to no end, the basis of his work does in fact come to fruition in his instrumental claims regarding the necessary rise of institutional action.
The Rise of the Institution
Throughout Who Rules the Earth? Steinberg gives significant praise to larger scale institutional action such as policy change and solutions that require nationwide participation; a prime example of which is his rejection of “four ideas that will not change the world” (Steinberg 2015, 215-221). These are ideas that activists of small scale individual change would potentially peddle that, in his opinion, do little good or even distract from ultimate goals. All four of these ideas are deeply intertwined and serve as brilliant critiques of individual action, but one in particular stands out as the most avoidable given our most recent political upheaval. Steinberg posits that “major breakthroughs in areas like alternative energy, wastewater treatment, crop production, and disease prevention do not just happen by themselves” but that they are brought upon by changes in “social signals” (Steinberg 2015, 215). These social signals are broadcasted by a variety of sources including, but not limited to, politicians and social movements that inspire genuine action. These are the social rules or tangible institutions that legitimately bring about social change rather than simply provide potentially useful technology or theory. As a contemporary example of this idea Steinberg reminds us that the scrubbing technology that reduced “air pollution from factory smokestacks… languished for half a century until new air quality rules prompted a burst of innovation” (Steinberg 2015, 216). The significance of this is that valuable technology always begins on the individual level, beyond this it is the job of social rules to relay social signals that inspire beneficial systemic change.
A Call to Action
Steinberg ends his book on the evaluative and instrumental fronts with “eight principles for action that are general enough in their prescriptions that they can be applied in diverse political settings, yet specific enough that they lend practical flavor to some of the more general themes discussed throughout this book” (Steinberg 2015, 267). These serve not only as a summary of his basic points but also as guidelines to inspire institutional change. Almost invisible to the reader, Steinberg moves from his groundwork of theory and history to literal rules to live by that have the potential to inspire actual developments. He ends with a final principle titled “And Yes, Keep Recycling” in spite of his lengthy critique of individual action he concludes that “it is a matter of balance, complementing these everyday acts of individual conscience with larger actions that promote social change” (Steinberg 2015, 278).
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.