Environmental Damage as Negative Externality: Uncertainty, Moral Complexity and the Limits of the Market

The economic concept of negative externalities is the dominant frame in environmental policies. Revisiting environmental damage with a sociological approach, I show how the process of externalities definition and internalisation is a political process in which a public is constituted and common prob...

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Main Author: Laura Centemeri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra 2009-09-01
Series:e-cadernos ces
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/eces/266
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author Laura Centemeri
author_facet Laura Centemeri
author_sort Laura Centemeri
collection DOAJ
description The economic concept of negative externalities is the dominant frame in environmental policies. Revisiting environmental damage with a sociological approach, I show how the process of externalities definition and internalisation is a political process in which a public is constituted and common problems are collectively defined and addressed. In particular, I highlight the presence in this process of two kinds of uncertainty which have to be dealt with: epistemic uncertainty and moral uncertainty. Keeping these two forms of uncertainty analytically separated is useful in order to understand the limits of the market as a way to internalize environmental externalities and to analyse in their specificities the different types of translation, mediation and composition which are needed in order to create the conditions for a truly inclusive and democratic public deliberation on environmental damage and its reparation.
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spelling doaj-art-1955d5ed96854f5db40aedab9c2e819d2024-12-09T14:12:20ZengCentro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbrae-cadernos ces1647-07372009-09-01510.4000/eces.266Environmental Damage as Negative Externality: Uncertainty, Moral Complexity and the Limits of the MarketLaura CentemeriThe economic concept of negative externalities is the dominant frame in environmental policies. Revisiting environmental damage with a sociological approach, I show how the process of externalities definition and internalisation is a political process in which a public is constituted and common problems are collectively defined and addressed. In particular, I highlight the presence in this process of two kinds of uncertainty which have to be dealt with: epistemic uncertainty and moral uncertainty. Keeping these two forms of uncertainty analytically separated is useful in order to understand the limits of the market as a way to internalize environmental externalities and to analyse in their specificities the different types of translation, mediation and composition which are needed in order to create the conditions for a truly inclusive and democratic public deliberation on environmental damage and its reparation.https://journals.openedition.org/eces/266externalitiesuncertaintyMichel CallonWilliam K. KappLaurent Thévenot
spellingShingle Laura Centemeri
Environmental Damage as Negative Externality: Uncertainty, Moral Complexity and the Limits of the Market
e-cadernos ces
externalities
uncertainty
Michel Callon
William K. Kapp
Laurent Thévenot
title Environmental Damage as Negative Externality: Uncertainty, Moral Complexity and the Limits of the Market
title_full Environmental Damage as Negative Externality: Uncertainty, Moral Complexity and the Limits of the Market
title_fullStr Environmental Damage as Negative Externality: Uncertainty, Moral Complexity and the Limits of the Market
title_full_unstemmed Environmental Damage as Negative Externality: Uncertainty, Moral Complexity and the Limits of the Market
title_short Environmental Damage as Negative Externality: Uncertainty, Moral Complexity and the Limits of the Market
title_sort environmental damage as negative externality uncertainty moral complexity and the limits of the market
topic externalities
uncertainty
Michel Callon
William K. Kapp
Laurent Thévenot
url https://journals.openedition.org/eces/266
work_keys_str_mv AT lauracentemeri environmentaldamageasnegativeexternalityuncertaintymoralcomplexityandthelimitsofthemarket