Globalisation, Environment and Social Justice

Perspectives, Issues and Concerns

Manish Verma, Manish K. Verma, Manish Verma, Manish K. Verma

• Publisher: Routledge India
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138363779
• eBook ISBN: 9780429849701
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Environment & Energy Policy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This volume provides a comprehensive account of the connections between globalisation, environment and social justice. It examines varied dimensions of environmental sustainability; the adverse impact of globalisation on environment and its consequences for poverty, unemployment and displacement; the impacts on marginalised sections such as scheduled castes and tribes and women; and policy frameworks for ensuring environmental sustainability and social justice.

The chapters build on detailed case studies from different parts of the world and deal with critical environmental issues such as global emissions, climate change, sustainable development, green politics, species protection, water governance, waste management, food production and governance besides education, inclusivity and human rights.

Presenting a range of topics alongside new perspectives and discourses, this interdisciplinary book will be useful to students and researchers of political studies, sociology and environmental studies as well as policymakers and those working in the government and civil society organisations.

Part I

Globalisation, environmental sustainability and social justice

Perspectives and issues

1 Globalisation, environment and social justice

A theoretical insight

B.K. Nagla

Globalisation is the process by which all peoples and communities come to experience an increasingly common economic, social and cultural environment. Globalisation has not only affected all aspects of human life but also influenced the social institutions to a great extent. It operates in an uneven and unequal manner. The neo-liberal economy (i.e. liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation) has further compounded the unevenness and inequality in society. The small minority of world’s population holds maximum resources and a majority of people are grappled in poverty. Hence, the globalised world sweeps away regulation and undermines local and national politics, just as the consolidation of the nation state swept away local economies, dialects, cultures and political forms. Globalisation creates new markets and wealth even as it causes widespread suffering, disorder, and unrest. It is both a source of repression and a catalyst for global movements of social justice and emancipation. The great financial crisis of 2008–09 has revealed the dangers of an unstable, deregulated, global economy but it has also given rise to important global initiatives for change (Global Policy Forum 2005–2015).¹

In this context, local and global environmental problems are increasingly demanding our attention, as threats to our quality of life and even our physical survival become more apparent. The environmental agenda has largely been driven by understandable concern for the increasing pressure placed on the natural world by human behaviour. Therefore, it may be argued that the globalisation of hazards puts the health of people in peripheral countries at risk in order to benefit those living in the core countries. Contextualising the export of hazardous products, industrial production processes, and wastes in a world systems framework, it discusses how ecological unequal exchange, the treadmill of production and metabolic rift have contributed to the globalisation of health, safety and environmental risks.

Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, colour, national origin or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies. The state, as an institution, guarantees social welfare and social justice to the marginalised groups but globalisation has not only threatened it but also made it weak. It has now retreated back from its welfare role. In the contemporary context, the social justice agenda is taken over by non-state organisations that are critical. The older theories of social justice, which are either inadequate or inapplicable, today cannot cover the new developments that have taken place in the era of globalisation and therefore they have to be reviewed, specifically in the Indian context.

The present chapter is an exploration of the intricate nexus that emerges as a result of globalisation, inextricably linking together issues of environmental and social justice. The chapter deals with three main things: (1) to analyse the main currents of globalisation which have an impact on environment and social justice; (2) to bring together views of different scholars, the chapter focuses on the area of environment and social justice, and explores the links that exists between the two and the effect of globalisation on these areas; and (3) to discourse upon the common concerns related to the problem.

Global context

The last 20 years have demonstrated as never before the inter-dependence of life on the globe. The whole global environment is affected by changes in weather and land use, which in turn have direct implications for individuals and communities. Economic developments on one continent can have almost simultaneous consequences on another. Conflicts in one area can provoke actions and reactions on the other side of the world which can be watched simultaneously on television or the internet by the whole world. Broadly, we may refer here to four types of environment, namely, the natural environment, the war and peace environment, the economic environment and the social environment. We shall discuss here briefly about these entire environments but our emphasis will be on the natural environment.

The natural environment

People share a common need for and a right to a fair share of the Earth’s resources, including a clean, safe and healthy environment. These basic requirements are under threat from climate change and environmental degradation. These challenges are widely recognised as presenting the greatest priority for global cooperation. The degradation of the global environment has observable social and economic consequences and therefore has an impact on the ability of people and communities to achieve their potential as human beings and to give expression to their human rights.

The war and peace environment

Some have argued that one reaction to the process of globalisation has been an escalation of tension and in particular the development of conflicts between religious and ethnic groups.

The economic environment

From 1945 until the 1970s, conventional economic wisdom saw the improvement of living conditions for all as an economic, social, and moral imperative, built upon the lessons of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and ‘Keynesian’ economic theories. Improvement in living and economic conditions was considered fundamental to the promotion and maintenance of social stability, order, peace and prosperity. The construction of social welfare protection was an important component of building social harmony and integration. Programs of public works and public investment were considered to be important ways to tackle the problems of unemployment.

These global movements and economic policies also affect the natural environment as has been described in the section on the physical environment above. Structural impoverishment, environmental degradation, pauperisation, and social and economic exclusion are contrary to basic, universal human rights and social work values, are economically unsound, and ignore the interdependence between the various sectors of society nationally and internationally. Social work cannot avoid confronting these realities and searching for solutions.

Social environment

Our communities have been rediscovering that a positive social environment is not possible without a sustainable natural environment. It is generally accepted that our natural environment not only influences but also is crucial for our social lives now and in the future.

The world’s resources are limited and threatened by pollution and consumption patterns all over the world. Pollution does not respect national boundaries, but is rapidly spreading its effects from one country or region to another. The critical condition of the physical environment demands a more holistic approach (Hoff 1997). The rapid global changes in the environment are complex and of a magnitude that significantly affect the planet and how it functions. The degradation of the natural environment calls for effective multilateral cooperation and policy measures which humanity needs to work on together.

We are all exposed to environmental degradation, but some more than others. There is evidence that poor neighbourhoods, communities and countries are more affected than others (Rogge and Darkwave 1996). Lack of political and social power and limited access to economic alternatives increase the exposure of people to the dangers of environmental degradation. Children are more exposed than others because toxins concentrate more rapidly in smaller bodies; child workers are especially exposed. Large groups of the population in more fortunate circumstances are affected by multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) due to exposure to chemicals found in personal care products, building material, processed food, pharmaceuticals and plastics.

The very future existence of some communities and nations is affected by anticipated changes in sea levels, itself a product of increasing industrialisation brought about by globalisation.

Globalisation

There are few topics as controversial as globalisation. It is meant to bring economic growth and solve a range of social, cultural and humanitarian problems. However, there are significant debates in relation to the extent that the reality of globalisation reflects this idealised vision. In particular, globalisation has produced a highly interdependent world, rendering state boundaries meaningless and challenging the ideology and limits of certain areas of international law. Alma et al. (2010) provide the opportunity to address some of the multifaceted issues provoked by the issue of globalisation.

In the 40 years since the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring first drew attention to the consequences of human activity on natural systems, the scale of the problem has grown inexorably. The human population has more than doubled, economic activity has quadrupled and carbon dioxide emissions have increased tenfold.

In their exploration of the intricate nexus that emerges as a result of globalisation, they inextricably link together issues of international law, human rights, environmental law and international trade law. Bringing together a number of experts in the field, the book of Alma et al. focuses on the areas of social justice and environmental justice and explores the links that exists between the two and the effect of globalisation on these areas. A variety of topics are addressed throughout the chapters of this book – including biodiversity, the law of the sea, biotechnology, child labour, the rights of women, corporate social responsibility, terrorism and counter-terrorism, water resources, intellectual property rights and the role of non-government organisations. As globalisation has many facets and actors, the contributions to the book engage with interdisciplinary research to deal with the various challenges identified, and critically explore both the potential of globalisation as a vehicle of sustainable and equitable development.

Over many centuries, human societies across the globe have established progressively closer contacts. Recently, the pace of global integration has dramatically increased. Unprecedented changes in communications, transportation, and computer technology have given the process new impetus and made the world more interdependent than ever. Multinational corporations manufacture products in many countries and sell to consumers around the world. Money, technology and raw materials move ever more swiftly across national borders. Along with products and finances, ideas and cultures circulate more freely. As a result, laws, economies and social movements are forming at the international level.

The term globalisation encompasses a range of social, political and economic changes. Within the section defining globalisation, we provide an introduction to the key debates. The materials ask what is new, what drives the process, how it changes politics, and how it affects global institutions like the UN.

Globalisation expands and accelerates the exchange of ideas and commodities over vast distances. It is common to discuss the phenomenon in highly generalised terms, but globalisation’s impacts are often best understood at the local level. Cases of globalisation explore the various manifestations of interconnectedness in the world, noting how globalisation affects real people and places.

Globalisation often appears to be a force of nature, a phenomenon without bounds or alternatives. But peoples’ movements have shown that it is neither unalterable nor inevitable. Citizens all over the world – ordinary people from the global north and south – can work together to shape alternate futures, to build a globalisation of cooperation, solidarity and respect for our common planetary environment.

Issues of globalisation and social justice

This special issue of the Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare (1 June 2007) presents a number of articles that address aspects of the way the issues of globalisation, social justice and social welfare have been addressed in social work, social policy and social welfare. Although much of the existing literature has focused on the social problems that may be attributed to globalisation, an attempt has been made here to focus on issues of mainstream social welfare concern in the...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• List of contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• Part I Globalisation, environmental sustainability and social justice: perspectives and issues
• Part II Globalisation, marginalised sections and social justice: problems and challenges
• Part III Globalisation and questions of equity and social justice: issues from various sectors
• Index