THE PARADOX OF ENVIRONMENTALISM: WHEN ENVIRONMENTALIST CONSUMPTION BECOMES A STATUS SYMBOL

Abstract

The purpose of this review article is to provide a critical analysis of some of the environmentalist practices developed during the tackle ecological degradation, as well as to evaluate the petty-bourgeois character of these practices. Initially, the article explains that capitalist production-consumption relations are primarily responsible for the observed climate changes in our era. After that, the character of the petty bourgeois, the consumer individual of late capitalism, is discussed in the context of Bourdieusian theory. To empirically explore the social dimensions of petty bourgeois environmentalism, this paper analyzes data from a targeted field research project conducted with residents of two distinct socioeconomic categories within Ankara. The research data employed within the article constitutes a limited subset derived from the broader data repository established by Feyza Korkmaz Saglam during her field research in 2021 July, conducted as part of her doctoral study. The findings, acquired through the application of Bourdieu’s Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) technique, reveal the utilization of environmentalist consumerism as a class differentiator, contributing to the perpetuation of capitalist production-consumption relations rather than challenging them.

Keywords

• Class distinction
• Climate change
• Consumption patterns
• Environmentalism
• Petty bourgeois.

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