Democracy
& Nature, Vol. 6,
No. 2
Science,
Ethics and Policy Responses to the “Organized Irresponsibility”
Margarita
Alario
Abstract:
Environmental movement continues to stimulate democratic
processes outside formal institutions. The repertoire of issues touches on
science, ethics, the market place and the distribution of technological risks. A
case in point is the prism of corporate interests that obscures the link of the
natural environment and health to scientific and technological developments.
Ecological risks, institutional organization and social distribution have
become sociologically relevant variables. The configuration of a system of
organized irresponsibility guarantees the application of legitimate norms that
continue to perpetrate the social systems’ threat, despite policy efforts to
ameliorate these risks. Further
eco-democratic impetus is added by the coalition among environmental, social
justice, and health advocacy groups. In the process, it is vital to identify the
specific environmental impacts on given populations, communities and ecosystems,
if a policy strategy is to be effective toward aiding a political ecological
model.
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