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Papers by Juliet Schor
As the prevalence of “conscious” consumption has grown, questions have arisen about its relations... more As the prevalence of “conscious” consumption has
grown, questions have arisen about its relationship to
political action. An influential argument holds that
political consumption individualizes responsibility for
environmental degradation and “crowds out” genuine
forms of activism. While European and Canadian
empirical research contradicts this perspective, finding
that conscious consumption and political engagement
are positively connected, no studies of this relationship
have been conducted for the United States. This article
presents ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models
for two datasets, the 2004 General Social Survey
and a detailed survey of approximately 2,200 conscious
consumers conducted by the authors, to assess the
nature of the relationship between conscious consumption
and political activism. The authors find that measures
of conscious consumption are significantly and
positively related to political action, even when controlling
for political involvement in the past. The results
suggest that greater levels of political consumption are
positively related to a range of political actions.
An important question in the literature on climate change and sustainability is the relation betw... more An important question in the literature on climate change and sustainability is the relation between economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. While the “green growth” paradigm dominates in the policy arena, a growing number of scholars in wealthy countries are questioning the feasibility of achieving required emissions reductions with continued economic growth. This paper explores the relationship between economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions over the period 1991–2008 with a balanced data set of 29 high-income countries. We present a variety of models, with particular attention to the difference between territorial emissions and consumption-based (or carbon footprint) emissions, which include the impact of international trade. The effect of economic growth is greater for consumption-based emissions than territorial emissions. We also find that over this period there is some evidence of decoupling between economic growth and territorial emissions, but no evidence of decoupling for consumption-based emissions.
Global progress on climate change has been stalled since the 2008 financial collapse. I consider ... more Global progress on climate change has been stalled since the 2008 financial collapse. I consider the case of the United States and how the crash and subsequent stagnation have reduced prospects for climate solutions at the national level. I focus on discourse and the economic and cultural framing of climate protection and the environment as a luxury good, unaffordable in recessionary times. As a solution to this paralyzing framework, I consider the emergence of “new economics,” which employs an alternative framing at the local and regional level. New economics is fostering the creation of new forms of ownership in a range of enterprise structures that also contribute to sustainability and greenhouse gas reductions.
Many scholars and activists are now advocating a program of economic degrowth for developed count... more Many scholars and activists are now advocating a program of economic degrowth for developed countries in order to mitigate demands on the global environment. An increasingly prominent idea is that developed countries could achieve slower or zero economic growth in a socially sustainable way by reducing working hours. Research suggests that reduced working hours could contribute to sustainability by decreasing the scale of economic output and the environmental intensity of consumption patterns. Here, we investigate the effect of working hours on three environmental indicators: ecological footprint, carbon footprint, and carbon dioxide emissions. Using data for 1970-2007, our panel analysis of 29 high-income OECD countries indicates that working time has a significant effect on environmental pressures and thus is an attractive target for policies promoting environmental sustainability.
Sharing comes easily to us. We share particulars like names and lineages, ideas and experiences, ... more Sharing comes easily to us. We share particulars like names and lineages, ideas and experiences, kisses and embraces, as well as vital generalities like air and water, land and space. Sharing is a kindly and generous impulse and a critical aspect of what Marx would call our “species-being,” our basic nature. Indigenous people even made sharing the basis of economic exchange through great gift-giving feasts called potlatches. Too little of this spirit stunts social relations, and we might wonder if culture could exist without it. But what happens when sharing is put to profit? Can it be the pivot on which economic activity turns?
The “sharing economy” has attracted a great deal of attention in recent months. Platforms such as... more The “sharing economy” has attracted a great deal of attention in
recent months. Platforms such as Airbnb and Uber are experiencing explosive growth, which, in turn, has led to regulatory and political battles. Boosters claim the new technologies will yield utopian outcomes—empowerment of ordinary people, efficiency, and even lower carbon footprints. Critics denounce them for being about economic self-interest rather than sharing, and for being predatory and exploitative. Not surprisingly, the reality is more complex. This essay, based on more than three years of study of both non-profit and for-profit initiatives in the “sharing economy,” discusses what’s new and not so new about the sector and how the claims of proponents and critics stack up. While the for-profit companies may be “acting badly,” these new technologies of peer-to-peer economic activity are potentially powerful tools for building a social movement centered on genuine practices of sharing and cooperation in the production and consumption of goods and services. But achieving that potential will require democratizing the ownership and governance of the platforms.
While sharing is a longstanding form of exchange, new forms of sharing have emerged. What is inno... more While sharing is a longstanding form of exchange, new forms of sharing have emerged. What is innovative about today’s sharing is that it is a market form in which strangers—rather than kin and communities—exchange goods and services. The
contemporary sharing economy creates new ways of provisioning goods and services and opportunities for what we have called connected consumption, relying on peer-to-peer
relationships rather than existing market actors to mediate exchanges. In this chapter, we suggest that participation in the sharing economy is motivated by economic and ecological concerns, as well as a desire to increase social connections. However, we question how effective the sharing economy has been in meeting these goals. Further, we suggest the importance of digital technologies, facilitating the emergence of “circuits of commerce,” in overcoming the trust and reputational barriers that once restricted sharing
to kin and community. Finally, we suggest that the market orientation and organization of sharing economy platforms—as well as whether exchanges are monetized or nonmonetized—are critical characteristics shaping these platforms and their potential to provide truly alternative economic arrangements.
The relational approach to economic sociology has been applied to circuits of commence, which are... more The relational approach to economic sociology has been applied to circuits of commence, which are “a structure combining its own economic activities, media, accounting systems, interpersonal relations, boundaries, and meanings,” that appear “in a wide variety of social circumstances and cannot simply be reduced to firms, markets, or networks,”
(Zelizer, 2010: 304). To date, the ways in which inequality operates within and affects circuits has not been explored. We look at four sites from the “sharing economy,” to analyze how class and other forms of inequality operate within this type of economic arrangement. On the basis of interviews and participant observation at a time bank, a food
swap, a makerspace and an open-access education site we find considerable evidence of distinguishing practices and the deployment of cultural capital. This exercise of class
power in turn undermines the ability to forge relations of exchange and the volume of trades. This results in an inconsistency between actual practice and the sharing
economy’s widely articulated goals of openness and even equality, which we call the “paradox of openness and distinction.”
Interviews by Juliet Schor
As the prevalence of “conscious” consumption has grown, questions have arisen about its relations... more As the prevalence of “conscious” consumption has
grown, questions have arisen about its relationship to
political action. An influential argument holds that
political consumption individualizes responsibility for
environmental degradation and “crowds out” genuine
forms of activism. While European and Canadian
empirical research contradicts this perspective, finding
that conscious consumption and political engagement
are positively connected, no studies of this relationship
have been conducted for the United States. This article
presents ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models
for two datasets, the 2004 General Social Survey
and a detailed survey of approximately 2,200 conscious
consumers conducted by the authors, to assess the
nature of the relationship between conscious consumption
and political activism. The authors find that measures
of conscious consumption are significantly and
positively related to political action, even when controlling
for political involvement in the past. The results
suggest that greater levels of political consumption are
positively related to a range of political actions.
An important question in the literature on climate change and sustainability is the relation betw... more An important question in the literature on climate change and sustainability is the relation between economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. While the “green growth” paradigm dominates in the policy arena, a growing number of scholars in wealthy countries are questioning the feasibility of achieving required emissions reductions with continued economic growth. This paper explores the relationship between economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions over the period 1991–2008 with a balanced data set of 29 high-income countries. We present a variety of models, with particular attention to the difference between territorial emissions and consumption-based (or carbon footprint) emissions, which include the impact of international trade. The effect of economic growth is greater for consumption-based emissions than territorial emissions. We also find that over this period there is some evidence of decoupling between economic growth and territorial emissions, but no evidence of decoupling for consumption-based emissions.
Global progress on climate change has been stalled since the 2008 financial collapse. I consider ... more Global progress on climate change has been stalled since the 2008 financial collapse. I consider the case of the United States and how the crash and subsequent stagnation have reduced prospects for climate solutions at the national level. I focus on discourse and the economic and cultural framing of climate protection and the environment as a luxury good, unaffordable in recessionary times. As a solution to this paralyzing framework, I consider the emergence of “new economics,” which employs an alternative framing at the local and regional level. New economics is fostering the creation of new forms of ownership in a range of enterprise structures that also contribute to sustainability and greenhouse gas reductions.
Many scholars and activists are now advocating a program of economic degrowth for developed count... more Many scholars and activists are now advocating a program of economic degrowth for developed countries in order to mitigate demands on the global environment. An increasingly prominent idea is that developed countries could achieve slower or zero economic growth in a socially sustainable way by reducing working hours. Research suggests that reduced working hours could contribute to sustainability by decreasing the scale of economic output and the environmental intensity of consumption patterns. Here, we investigate the effect of working hours on three environmental indicators: ecological footprint, carbon footprint, and carbon dioxide emissions. Using data for 1970-2007, our panel analysis of 29 high-income OECD countries indicates that working time has a significant effect on environmental pressures and thus is an attractive target for policies promoting environmental sustainability.
Sharing comes easily to us. We share particulars like names and lineages, ideas and experiences, ... more Sharing comes easily to us. We share particulars like names and lineages, ideas and experiences, kisses and embraces, as well as vital generalities like air and water, land and space. Sharing is a kindly and generous impulse and a critical aspect of what Marx would call our “species-being,” our basic nature. Indigenous people even made sharing the basis of economic exchange through great gift-giving feasts called potlatches. Too little of this spirit stunts social relations, and we might wonder if culture could exist without it. But what happens when sharing is put to profit? Can it be the pivot on which economic activity turns?
The “sharing economy” has attracted a great deal of attention in recent months. Platforms such as... more The “sharing economy” has attracted a great deal of attention in
recent months. Platforms such as Airbnb and Uber are experiencing explosive growth, which, in turn, has led to regulatory and political battles. Boosters claim the new technologies will yield utopian outcomes—empowerment of ordinary people, efficiency, and even lower carbon footprints. Critics denounce them for being about economic self-interest rather than sharing, and for being predatory and exploitative. Not surprisingly, the reality is more complex. This essay, based on more than three years of study of both non-profit and for-profit initiatives in the “sharing economy,” discusses what’s new and not so new about the sector and how the claims of proponents and critics stack up. While the for-profit companies may be “acting badly,” these new technologies of peer-to-peer economic activity are potentially powerful tools for building a social movement centered on genuine practices of sharing and cooperation in the production and consumption of goods and services. But achieving that potential will require democratizing the ownership and governance of the platforms.
While sharing is a longstanding form of exchange, new forms of sharing have emerged. What is inno... more While sharing is a longstanding form of exchange, new forms of sharing have emerged. What is innovative about today’s sharing is that it is a market form in which strangers—rather than kin and communities—exchange goods and services. The
contemporary sharing economy creates new ways of provisioning goods and services and opportunities for what we have called connected consumption, relying on peer-to-peer
relationships rather than existing market actors to mediate exchanges. In this chapter, we suggest that participation in the sharing economy is motivated by economic and ecological concerns, as well as a desire to increase social connections. However, we question how effective the sharing economy has been in meeting these goals. Further, we suggest the importance of digital technologies, facilitating the emergence of “circuits of commerce,” in overcoming the trust and reputational barriers that once restricted sharing
to kin and community. Finally, we suggest that the market orientation and organization of sharing economy platforms—as well as whether exchanges are monetized or nonmonetized—are critical characteristics shaping these platforms and their potential to provide truly alternative economic arrangements.
The relational approach to economic sociology has been applied to circuits of commence, which are... more The relational approach to economic sociology has been applied to circuits of commence, which are “a structure combining its own economic activities, media, accounting systems, interpersonal relations, boundaries, and meanings,” that appear “in a wide variety of social circumstances and cannot simply be reduced to firms, markets, or networks,”
(Zelizer, 2010: 304). To date, the ways in which inequality operates within and affects circuits has not been explored. We look at four sites from the “sharing economy,” to analyze how class and other forms of inequality operate within this type of economic arrangement. On the basis of interviews and participant observation at a time bank, a food
swap, a makerspace and an open-access education site we find considerable evidence of distinguishing practices and the deployment of cultural capital. This exercise of class
power in turn undermines the ability to forge relations of exchange and the volume of trades. This results in an inconsistency between actual practice and the sharing
economy’s widely articulated goals of openness and even equality, which we call the “paradox of openness and distinction.”