Moral Austerity of Environmental Decision Making

In The Moral Austerity of Environmental Decision Making a group of prominent environmental ethicists, political theorists, and legal experts challenges the dominating influence of market principles and assumptions on the formulation of environmental policy and examine the possibilities for a wider variety of moral principles to play an active role in defining "good" environmental decisions. If environmental policy is to be responsible to humanity and to nature in the twenty-first century, they argue, it is imperative that the discourse acknowledge and integrate moral argument alongside competing market demands and democratic policy concerns. The contributors highlight the controversy surrounding the roles of science, social justice, instrumental value, and intrinsic value in contemporary environmental theory and focus on subjects such as pollution, land use, environmental law, globalism, and public lands. In their search for a less austere and more robust role for normative discourse in practical policy making, they also provide original case studies that deal with environmental sustainability and natural resources policy. The result is an engaging and unique dialogue among the authors about the role personal and public values play in democratic decision making generally, and in the field of environmental politics specifically. The Moral Austerity of Environmental Decision Making makes a valuable resource for policy analysts and theorists alike, as well as for students in policy courses, political theory, or environmental ethics courses.