IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/cnpexx/v20y2015i1p21-41.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The New 'Passive Revolution' of the Green Economy and Growth Discourse: Maintaining the 'Sustainable Development' of Neoliberal Capitalism

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Wanner

Abstract

This paper analyses the rapidly emerging discourse of a green economy based on green growth. It highlights inherent conflicts and contradictions of this discourse such as the myth of decoupling growth from the environment, pollution generations and resource consumption. Using key theoretical constructs of both Gramsci and Polanyi, the paper argues that the green economy/growth discourse can be seen as a Gramscian 'passive revolution' whereby the dominant sustainable development discourse, subsumed by capitalist hegemony, is protected in the context of global environmental, economic and development crises. The 'neoliberalising of nature', or in other words, the privatisation, marketisation and commodification of nature, akin to Polanyi's fictitious commodities, continues and intensifies with green economy/growth strategies. Greening the economy and associated strategies of green growth divert attention from the social and political dimensions of sustainability and issues of social and international justice. In this way, the inexorable march or 'sustainable development' of neoliberal capitalism is maintained. This paper goes on to argue that contesting the claims of green economy/growth discourse through political struggles by civil society against the neoliberalisation of nature is a sign of a slowly emerging counter-hegemonic 'double movement' which challenges capitalist hegemony and the commodification of society-nature relations.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Wanner, 2015. "The New 'Passive Revolution' of the Green Economy and Growth Discourse: Maintaining the 'Sustainable Development' of Neoliberal Capitalism," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 21-41, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:cnpexx:v:20:y:2015:i:1:p:21-41
    DOI: 10.1080/13563467.2013.866081
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/13563467.2013.866081
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/13563467.2013.866081?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Everett, Tim & Ishwaran, Mallika & Ansaloni, Gian Paolo & Rubin, Alex, 2010. "Economic growth and the environment," MPRA Paper 23585, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Eric Neumayer, 2013. "Weak versus Strong Sustainability," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14993.
    3. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kersty Hobson, 2020. "‘Small stories of closing loops’: social circularity and the everyday circular economy," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 99-116, November.
    2. M. Isabel Sánchez-Hernández & Juan José Maldonado-Briegas, 2019. "Sustainable Entrepreneurial Culture Programs Promoting Social Responsibility: A European Regional Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-19, July.
    3. Weber, Heloise & Weber, Martin, 2020. "When means of implementation meet Ecological Modernization Theory: A critical frame for thinking about the Sustainable Development Goals initiative," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    4. Frederick Livingston, 2022. "Planting trees as a bridge between material and spiritual responses to environmental crisis," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(1), pages 487-495, March.
    5. Claude Villeneuve & David Tremblay & Olivier Riffon & Georges Y. Lanmafankpotin & Sylvie Bouchard, 2017. "A Systemic Tool and Process for Sustainability Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-29, October.
    6. Larry Dwyer, 2023. "Tourism Degrowth: Painful but Necessary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-23, October.
    7. Arthur Hughes & Michael A. Urban & Dariusz Wójcik, 2021. "Alternative ESG Ratings: How Technological Innovation Is Reshaping Sustainable Investment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-23, March.
    8. Buch-Hansen, Hubert, 2018. "The Prerequisites for a Degrowth Paradigm Shift: Insights from Critical Political Economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 157-163.
    9. You He & Jinrui Zhang & Jie Feng & Guoqing Shi, 2022. "Dynamic Relationship between Green Economy and Energy Utilization Level: Evidence from China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-14, August.
    10. Christopher M. Dent, 2022. "Neoliberal Environmentalism, Climate Interventionism and the Trade-Climate Nexus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-26, November.
    11. Zaheer Allam & David Jones, 2019. "Climate Change and Economic Resilience through Urban and Cultural Heritage: The Case of Emerging Small Island Developing States Economies," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-23, June.
    12. Nada Denona Bogovic & Zvonimira Sverko Grdic, 2020. "Transitioning to a Green Economy—Possible Effects on the Croatian Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-19, November.
    13. Hirschhorn, Fabio & van de Velde, Didier & Veeneman, Wijnand & ten Heuvelhof, Ernst, 2020. "The governance of attractive public transport: Informal institutions, institutional entrepreneurs, and problem-solving know-how in Oslo and Amsterdam," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    14. David Tremblay & Sabine Gowsy & Olivier Riffon & Jean-François Boucher & Samuel Dubé & Claude Villeneuve, 2021. "A Systemic Approach for Sustainability Implementation Planning at the Local Level by SDG Target Prioritization: The Case of Quebec City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-20, February.
    15. Marinus Ossewaarde & Roshnee Ossewaarde-Lowtoo, 2020. "The EU’s Green Deal: A Third Alternative to Green Growth and Degrowth?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-15, November.
    16. Aleksandra Jezierska-Thöle & Marta Gwiaździńska-Goraj & Małgorzata Dudzińska, 2022. "Environmental, Social, and Economic Aspects of the Green Economy in Polish Rural Areas—A Spatial Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-21, May.
    17. Devon Reynolds & David Ciplet, 2023. "Transforming Socially Responsible Investment: Lessons from Environmental Justice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(1), pages 53-69, February.
    18. Jan Engelmann & Mohammad Al-Saidi & Johannes Hamhaber, 2019. "Concretizing Green Growth and Sustainable Business Models in the Water Sector of Jordan," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-20, May.
    19. Canh, Nguyen Phuc & Schinckus, Christophe & Thanh, Su Dinh & Chong, Felicia Hui Ling, 2021. "The determinants of the energy consumption: A shadow economy-based perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    20. Patrick Bottazzi, 2019. "Work and Social-Ecological Transitions: A Critical Review of Five Contrasting Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-19, July.
    21. Maria Federica Cordova & Andrea Celone, 2019. "SDGs and Innovation in the Business Context Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-14, December.
    22. Enrique-Javier Díez-Gutiérrez & José Jesús Trujillo Vargas & Eva Palomo-Cermeño & Ignacio Perlado-Lamo de Espinosa & Luisa-María García-Salas & Kelly Romero Acosta & Luis-Miguel Mateos-Toro & Antonio , 2024. "Educating in and for Degrowth: Training Future Generations to Prevent Environmental Collapse," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-12, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Weidner, Helmut, 2005. "Global equity versus public interest? The case of climate change policy in Germany," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Civil Society and Transnational Networks SP IV 2005-102, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    2. Werner Hediger, 2013. "From Multifunctionality and Sustainability of Agriculture to the Social Responsibility of the Agri-food System," Journal of Socio-Economics in Agriculture (Until 2015: Yearbook of Socioeconomics in Agriculture), Swiss Society for Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, vol. 6(1), pages 59-80.
    3. Ngo Long & Vincent Martinet, 2018. "Combining rights and welfarism: a new approach to intertemporal evaluation of social alternatives," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 50(1), pages 35-64, January.
    4. Baumgärtner, Stefan & Quaas, Martin F., 2009. "Ecological-economic viability as a criterion of strong sustainability under uncertainty," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 2008-2020, May.
    5. Jean-François Ruault & Alice Dupré La Tour & André Evette & Sandrine Allain & Jean-Marc Callois, 2022. "A biodiversity-employment framework to protect biodiversity," Post-Print hal-03365820, HAL.
    6. Indra de Soysa & Jennifer Bailey & Eric Neumayer, 2004. "Free to Squander? Democracy, Institutional Design, and Economic Sustainability, 1975–2000," Macroeconomics 0412004, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Alexey Voinov, 2008. "Understanding and communicating sustainability: global versus regional perspectives," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 487-501, August.
    8. Ottmar Edenhofer & Susanne Kadner & Christoph von Stechow & Gregor Schwerhoff & Gunnar Luderer, 2014. "Linking climate change mitigation research to sustainable development," Chapters, in: Giles Atkinson & Simon Dietz & Eric Neumayer & Matthew Agarwala (ed.), Handbook of Sustainable Development, chapter 30, pages 476-499, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Bazhanov, A., 2011. "The Dependence of the Potential Sustainability of a Resource Economy on the Initial State: a Comparison of Models Using the Example of Russian Oil Extraction," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, issue 12, pages 77-100.
    10. Padmanabha Hota & Bhagirath Behera, 2016. "Opencast coal mining and sustainable local livelihoods in Odisha, India," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 29(1), pages 1-13, April.
    11. Joan Pasqual & Emilio Padilla, 2006. "Environmental Management Problems, Future Generations And Social Decisions," The IUP Journal of Public Finance, IUP Publications, vol. 0(3), pages 15-59, August.
    12. Gómez-Baggethun, Erik & de Groot, Rudolf & Lomas, Pedro L. & Montes, Carlos, 2010. "The history of ecosystem services in economic theory and practice: From early notions to markets and payment schemes," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 1209-1218, April.
    13. Argentino Pessoa & Mário Rui Silva, 2009. "Environment Based Innovation: Policy Questions," FEP Working Papers 308, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    14. Markus Milne & Rob Gray, 2013. "W(h)ither Ecology? The Triple Bottom Line, the Global Reporting Initiative, and Corporate Sustainability Reporting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(1), pages 13-29, November.
    15. Konrad Ott, 2014. "Institutionalizing Strong Sustainability: A Rawlsian Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-19, February.
    16. Ghassan Dibeh & Ali Fakih & Walid Marrouch & Ghida Matar, 2021. "Who Cares About Environmental Quality in the MENA Region?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 603-629, September.
    17. Cook, David & Davidsdottir, Brynhildur & Petursson, Jón Geir, 2015. "Accounting for the utilisation of geothermal energy resources within the genuine progress indicator—A methodological review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 211-220.
    18. Silvia Simon, 2006. "Zukunftsfähige Wirtschaftsentwicklung von Kleinstaaten. Kleinheitsbedingte Optionen und Restriktionen am Beispiel Liechtenstein," Beitraege 37, Liechtenstein-Institut.
    19. Ourvashi Bissoon, 2017. "Is Sub-Saharan Africa on a Genuinely Sustainable Development Path? Evidence Using Panel Data," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 11(4), pages 449-464, November.
    20. Tobias Hahn & Frank Figge & Jonatan Pinkse & Lutz Preuss, 2018. "A Paradox Perspective on Corporate Sustainability: Descriptive, Instrumental, and Normative Aspects," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 235-248, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:cnpexx:v:20:y:2015:i:1:p:21-41. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/cnpe20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.