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The Ecological Social Contract

  • Chapter
Environmental Protection: Public or Private Choice

Part of the book series: Economy & Environment ((ECEN,volume 4))

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Abstract

The natural environment of human beings often connotes publicness. Ecologists argue that an elimination of the current ecological catastrophe is a public good at local, regional, fluvial, continental or global levels; consider for instance, the dumping of poisonous waste, eutrophication, deforestation, acidification or ozone layer depletion. At all these levels the common interests of large numbers of human beings are at stake, including the interests of other sentients derived from these interests.’ Economists stress that the solution of urgent environmental problems will buttress public opulence, Paretian efficiency or social welfare in the long run. And political scientists state that the green movement differs from old social movements, since the old “us against them” perspective is replaced by an “all of us” perspective (Offe, 1990p. 234). Many of these scientists argue that the contemporary ecological crisis has been brought about by a lack of coordination and a conflict about the distribution of the costs of coordination between persons and corporate actors: the ecosystem has attained a state of anarchy. That may very well be the moment for salvation of the Hobbesian Leviathan, the opposite of theZeitgeist of libertarianism, regional politics, and global capitalism (Siebert, 1990p. 18).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Twente, The Netherlands

    Jos De Beus

  2. University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Jos De Beus

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  1. Jos De Beus
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Finance, The Hague, The Netherlands

    D. J. Kraan (Head Bureau of Policy Review) (Head Bureau of Policy Review)

  2. Netherlands School of Government, The Hague, The Netherlands

    R. J. in ’t Veld (Professor of Public Administration at the Universities of Rotterdam and Leiden, Dean) (Professor of Public Administration at the Universities of Rotterdam and Leiden, Dean)

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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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De Beus, J. (1991). The Ecological Social Contract. In: Kraan, D.J., in ’t Veld, R.J. (eds) Environmental Protection: Public or Private Choice. Economy & Environment, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3560-3_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3560-3_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5577-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-3560-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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