In Who Rules the Earth? Paul Steinberg causes us to examine how social rules shape both our individual lives and the state of our planet. As of late, much of the discussion that takes place with relation to environmentalism, often revolves around questions of sustainability, efficiency and economics. We, as citizens and individuals are beaten over the head with apocalyptic images and messages from a wide range of environmental groups, with calls to various forms of action, usually with direct correlation to concepts of environmental sustainability. As individuals, we are pleaded by groups and speakers to take action, to divest from fossil fuels, to stop pipelines, to stop deforestation, and to stop over-fishing, simply as a few examples, however we are not told how exactly to go about doing this. We are continually told that we are on the brink of utter ecological crisis, and to act, however what will really take us in a more sustainable direction with regards to our planet? As we have learned, individual action such as recycling is important, however ultimately not enough. According to Steinberg, in order to shift our trajectory towards a sustainable world we must instead modify the very rules that guide human behavior and shape the ways we interact with the world (Steinberg 2015).
The “rules” that Steinberg is referencing here are things that many individuals are familiar with, such as city codes, business contracts, public policies, cultural norms and national constitutions, however they are also things that many people may not pay much attention to given their characteristic of invisibility. Though these rules are often invisible and ignored by the individual as significant, their impact across the globe has been dramatic. By changing rules, and implementing them correctly it has become clear that moving towards sustainability is indeed possible, we must simply construct the correct rules, and implement them (Steinberg 2015, 163).
The importance of social rules cannot be stressed for they influence all levels of society, from private property to government policy, and this is what Steinberg strives to explain. He explains that social rules function like institutions, and if a rule does not last than it is not an institution (Steinberg 2015, 141). The question that then naturally arises is what determines whether the rules made, whether it be by governments or not, have staying power? In order for new rules to have staying power, Steinberg puts forth that ruts must be created so that people pay attention to these new rules, or in other words feel social pressure to follow these rules(Steinberg 2015, 221). One drawback to this approach is that when ruts become too deep it can be difficult to modify or change these rules (Steinberg 2015, 234), however, generally speaking, rules that garner social pressure have a much better chance of succeeding.
Through reading Who Rules the Earth, I have learned that our trajectory towards a more sustainable planet is perhaps more feasible than one would have thought, it just entails a lot more rules. It is clear from this text that given a problem which affects the entire world, such as climate change does, that we must employ action and rules on multiple levels of scale. It is important to think vertically in this way, as Steinberg asks us to, in envisioning change. To think globally and act locally is wrong and too simplistic in thinking. We must instead think of those rules that are in place and the scope of the possible rules to be enacted due to the ones in place. Action on multiple levels is necessary in moving towards sustainability, and therefore so too are rules.
References
Steinberg, Paul F. 2015. Who Rules the Earth?: How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.