Private plichten en ecologisch burgerschap

1
Private plichten en ecologisch burgerschap

• Aardewerk Opleiding Ecologische Filosofie en
  Politiek
• Zaterdag 10 April 2008 Vormingplus Gent
• Stijn Neuteleers
• Centre for Ethics, Political and Social
  Philosophy K.U.Leuven
• Stijn.neuteleers_at_econ.kuleuven.be

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Introduction

• Question relevance (liberalism and ecologism)
• Introduction citizenship ecological challenges
• Theories of citizenship
• Ecological challenges
• Liberal citizenship
• Structure of presentation

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Sources of liberal citizenship rights and
duties

• Liberal environmental citizenship of Derek Bell
  (2005)
• Two sources
• 1. Basic needs
• taken for granted
• principle of sustainability
• priority
• 2. Fact of reasonable pluralism
• no conception priority
• democratic decision-making
• Priority basic needs procedures
• Beyond outcome of debate

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Liberal environmental citizenship rights

• Derived rights
• A. The environment as crucial for basic needs
• substantial right (democratic specification)
• b. procedural right
• b1. defend
• b2. promote
• B. Environment as a subject of reasonable
  disagreement
• c. right to participate in policy-making
• d. personal right
• A has priority on B

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Liberal environmental citizenship duties

• Negative duties comply with just institutions
• Just institutions
• - provider of basic needs democratic
  specification
• - subject of reasonable disagreement
  democracy
• Positive duties promote just institutions
• Liberals institutions
• Problem all-consuming
• Solution cost proviso
• Remark excluded duties

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Private duties of liberal environmental
citizenship

• Opposite camps institutions vs. lifestyle
• Until now - personal rights
• - institutions
• Private duties
• positive private duty
• negative private duty
• Distinction private/public is different!
• Negative ? privacy
• Positive ? influence personal lifestyle

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Negative private duties

• Some private pro-environmental actions -
  Desirable
• - Undesirable violation of basic liberal
  rights.
• Solution (Bell) a declaration of a
  non-enforceable citizens duty
• negative duties
• But why private? not enforceable by law why?
• Value of privacy ? private
• potential conflict between privacy and
  environmental-unfriendly behaviour,
• 1. decisional privacy
• consumption No far-reaching consequences
• Prohibition
• 2. Informational privacy
• consumption storage of purchasing information
• no aggregative consumption measures on
  micro-level
• 3. local privacy
• consumption potential conflict
• solution declare non-enforceable duties

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Positive private duties

• private pro-environmental actions might be the
  best way of promoting just arrangements.
• Positive promoting
• Liberal institutions
• Private? Not non-enforceability
• ? social or cultural domain
• public positive duties broad interpretation of
  political actions,
• - classical political actions
• - actions mainly directed towards social change.
  
• private positive duties encompass the rest
• actions not mainly directed towards change
• arbitrarily?
• Relevant? However, this ignores the fact that
  such promoting can be a side-effect of private
  behaviour (private positive duties).
• personal lifestyle can promote institutions.
• (1) direct way (policy)
• (2) indirect way (diffusion)

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Overview duties of liberal environmental
citizenship
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Examples

• 1. Should I put my litter in a (costly) refuse
  bag that will be collected, or can I dump my
  litter somewhere in a forest?
• 2. Should I separate my litter, or can a put
  everything in one refuse bag?
• 3. Should I take a shorter shower, or can I
  shower as long as I like?
• 4. Should I sign a petition for a law that
  settles limits to air pollution, or can I turn
  from such a petition?
• 5. Should I reduce my consumption of meat, or can
  I eat meat as much as I would like to?
• 6. Should I buy fair trade coffee, or can I buy
  any other coffee?

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Discussion

• 1. Are the liberal reasons to fulfill ones
  liberal duties sufficient for environmental
  duties?
• 2. What if non-legal institutions are crucial for
  an policy of sustainability?
• 3. Are the two liberal sources sufficient for an
  environmental approach?
• 4. What if good environmental behaviour is not
  experienced as burdensome?

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Conclusion