Misplacing environmental responsibility : a causal, political, and ontological critique of green consumerism and the case for relational repair

Abstract

This thesis argues that there are three main ways in which responsibilities are misallocated in the environmental responsibility model of green consumerism. First, at the causal level, green consumerism overemphasizes the importance of individual consumption while underestimating the role of industrial production, energy systems, firms, and institutions in the ecological crisis. Secondly, at the political level, it individualizes and marketizes responsibilities, so that some enterprises, rich individuals, or collectives can obtain green legitimacy. If responsibility is distributed equally among all consumers, it will be unfair to many ordinary people who have no money or resources; if it is not equalized, the rich can take this opportunity to gain a moral advantage. However, while buying green, they still emit and consume more resources. Third, at the ontological level, green consumerism tends to reproduce a subject–object relation between humans and nature, and a human-centered model of domination. This thesis draws on some moral responsibility theories, Marx, Marcuse, deep ecology, ecofeminism, and care ethics to argue that ecological responsibility should not be centered on individual consumption choices. Instead, ecological responsibility should be understood as relational repair: repairing damaged relationships between humans and nature, between humans, and between current and future generations.