The Vision of State and Social Life in the Normative Models of Environmental Awareness

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to compare the normative concepts of the most influential authors on environmental awareness and their visions of the state and society. In particular, it presents their attitudes toward the political system in the face of the environmental crisis, their opinions on modern technology, and their visions of an environmentally friendly social life. While the vast majority of the authors share the conviction that it is necessary to limit consumption, combat the domination of the destructive technosphere that alienates man from the environment, and base environmental policy on the needs of local communities, they often strongly differ in their visions of social life. Traditional models of the rule of law and democracy are sometimes countered with extremely utopian and metaphysical postulates that may – at least according to their critics – pose a real threat to freedom and human rights. Some are blatantly totalitarian, citing the impotence of democracy in the face of the looming ecological disaster. As this article is descriptive and theoretical in nature, organizing knowledge in the field of the issues discussed, its author decided to refrain from formulating research hypotheses.

Keywords

• environmental policy
• sustainable development
• environmental awareness
• anthropocentrism
• biocentrism