In Who Rules the Earth?, Paul F Steinberg reflects on the various ways that the social rules that govern how we interact with one another also govern the way we interact with our planet (2015). The reader is walked through various scenarios that demonstrate how the rules our society has implemented affect the outcomes, and how social rules are often hazy and convoluted.
One point that I found to be strongly emphasized is thinking vertically. Without the rulemakers, we have no rules, and thus we must make sure that our rule makers are being as efficent as possible. Rulemakers remaining at one level of governance will not be able to employ the type of policy that we need in order to create positive effects or reverse/stop negative effects on things such as deforestation, water contamination, or greenhouse gas emissions. Multiple levels of government are needed in order to create a system that works completely, not just affecting one area, but addresses environmental issues as a whole. This is extremely valuable to me I did not consider the idea of thinking vertically before reading this book, and now I understand that it is more than action that is necessary, but action at all levels, from individual to community wide to international.
Another idea that I found interesting and especially resonated with me is the concept of feasible worlds, specifically feasibility of a perfectly sustainable world. The main obstacles are those that are political; a desire for power often overrides a desire for a sustainable environment. But Steinberg explains that “those of us who assume that power is unassailable are controlled and manipulated with great efficiency because we impose constraints on ourselves”(2015, 55), and thus we allow our imagined worlds of sustainability to slip away because we think that power shoots down feasibility. In short, the people need power and education- as opposed to groups with a private agenda- in order to create a world that can take care of environmental, cultural, and economic needs. I believe that as long as large industries have the majority of the power, it will be difficult to put forth the necessary action to slow anthropogenic climate change.
The idea that “Think globally, act locally” is not only obsolete, but never was something to strive for is laced throughout the entire book, but is specifically concentrated on in chapter seven as he describes the mantra as “far too simplistic in its portrayal of the sources of environmental problems and the solutions at our disposal” (Steinberg 2015, 163). This relates back to thinking vertically as individual action is a good thing to practice, but will not transform the movement towards sustainable living. I am guilty of having the “think globally, act locally” mindset prior to this class. I felt like I was single handedly changing the world with my vegetarianism and desire to stay as educated as possible on environmental issues. The reality I now have an understanding of is that my action is a nice effort, and appreciated, but it does not compete against the complexity of solving these problems. The multifaceted nature of environmental issues calls for an institutional and international approach if we are to make a difference.
Work Cited
Steinberg, Paul F. 2015. Who Rules the Earth?: How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.