Introduction
The last part of ENVS 160 has been devoted to the book, Who Rules the Earth?: How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives, by Paul F. Steinberg. By reading this book, we, as a class, have learned about social rules, institutions, and norms. The main argument Steinberg presents is that to find solutions for environmental issues like climate change, it should not come from individual change but institutional change. He believes that thinking mostly individually will not solve environmental issues, and thinking mostly institutionally will get the job done better (Steinberg 2015).
A Walk on a Beach
Before Steinberg fully states how social rules shape our planet and our lives, the first thing Steinberg does is that he explains them with the idea that social rules are basically invisible. Chapter 2 begins with a walk on a beach, which although sounds like such a beautiful and simple idea, there are more aspects that go on. He states, “there are other realities here that go unseen by the untrained eye, and have yet to enter into the colorful documentaries provided by scientists, journalists, and other chroniclers of the natural world. These are the social rules that pattern this physical reality. Sometimes these rules take the form of laws” (Steinberg 2015, 19). He discusses taking a walk on a beach in order to display the presence of an abundance of important but very invisible social institutions. Walking on a beach is not as basic as it sounds because social institutions allow this to occur. Steinberg states that in the United States, “the ability to enjoy a day at the beach is ensured by our embrace of an ancient legal principle known as the public trust doctrine” (Steinberg 2015, 22). He also states, “if the story of public access to beaches, and of social rules generally, were simply one of fair-minded rules fairly applied, there would be little reason for us to take interest in where these rules come from” (Steinberg 2015, 23). By reading this section, I have realized that social institutions are in fact foundations that are built by governments, and that social institutions are influenced by many factors in our world. I was and still am overwhelmed with the fact that pretty much everything that I do is made by social institutions.
Personal Reflection
At times I felt Steinberg was being too negative, believing that individuals themselves can’t make any changes at all. However, by reading this book and going over it in ENVS 160, I have learned that although one individual is not always able to be able to have a significant impact on our planet, a collective group of individuals can. When Steinberg concludes this book, he talks about an individual action, with the title “And Yes, Keep Recycling”. Throughout this book, Steinberg has talked about and criticized individual action. However, he finally states that society should keep doing the small things like recycling, but society should also take individual actions into account and mix it with institutional actions in order to support social change (Steinberg 2015, 278). As I am someone who has grown up wanting our planet to be protected from problems such as climate change and encouraging others to help our planet by taking small actions like recycling and using reusable bottles, I am very pleased that Steinberg has decided to end the text like this. As Steinberg says, “connecting with the planet, and connecting with one another, are two important and complementary activities for the modern citizen looking for creative ways to take part in ruling the earth” (Steinberg 2015, 279).
References
Steinberg, Paul F. 2015. Who Rules the Earth?: How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.