Die zwei Begriffe von ‚sozial‘: In_direkte Zusammenhänge in sozio-ökologischen Transformationsprozessen

Stephan Lorenz

doi:10.14512/tatup.7237

Authors

Stephan Lorenz Institute of Sociology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena (DE) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7309-8374 stephan.lorenz@uni-jena.de

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14512/tatup.7237

Keywords:

technology, economy, culture, social differentiation, society-nature relations

Abstract

The idea presented here is that there should be a clear-cut distinction between the two concepts of ‘social’ in the discussions about socio-ecological transformations and sustainability. The ‘social’ of relations within society is categorically different from that of society-nature relations. While the latter concern direct environmental design through technologies, the former refer to indirect environmental impacts of economic, political or cultural activities. This has far-reaching consequences in analytical and transformative terms. Analytically, competing social theories need to be combined. From a transformative perspective on socio-ecological constellations, the indirect connections and translations between the two modes of social relations must be taken into account.

References

Beck, Ulrich (1992): Risk society. Towards a new modernity. London: Sage.

Berghöfer, Uta; Rode, Julian; Jax, Kurt; Förster, Johannes; Berghöfer, Augustin; Wittmer, Heidi (2022): ‘Societal Relationships with Nature’. A framework for understanding nature-related conflicts and multiple values. In: People and Nature 4 (2), pp. 534–548. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10305

Brand, Karl-Werner (2017): Der historische Kontext. Industrielle Modernisierungs- und Transformationsdynamiken. In: Karl-Werner Brand (ed.): Die sozial-ökologische Transformation der Welt. Ein Handbuch. Frankfurt am Main: Campus, pp. 52–77.

Callon, Michel (1986): Some elements of a sociology of translation. Domestication of the scallops and the fishermen of St Brieuc Bay. In: John Law (ed.): Power, action, and belief. A new sociology of knowledge? London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 196–223. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.1984.tb00113.x

Diekmann, Andreas; Bruderer Enzler, Heidi; Hartman, Jörg; Kurz, Karin; Liebe, Ulf; Preisendörfer, Peter (2023): Environmental inequality in four European cities. A study combining household survey and geo-referenced data. In: European Sociological Review 39 (1), pp. 44–66. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcac028

Fischer-Kowalski, Marina; Krausmann, Fridolin; Pallua, Irene (2014): A sociometabolic reading of the Anthropocene. Modes of subsistence, populationsize and human impact on earth. In: The Anthropocene Review 1 (1), pp. 8–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053019613518033

Fischer-Kowalski, Marina; Mayer, Andreas; Schaffartzik, Anke (2024): Zur sozialmetabolischen Transformation von Gesellschaft und Soziologie. In: Marco Sonnberger, Alena Bleicher and Matthias Groß (eds.): Handbuch Umweltsoziologie. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, pp. 31–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-37218-7_2

Foster, John; Clark, Brett; York, Richard (2010): The ecological rift. Capitalism’s war on the earth. New York, NY: Monthly Review Press.

Gloy, Karen (1995): Das Verständnis der Natur. Vol. 1. Die Geschichte des wissenschaftlichen Denkens. München: C.H. Beck.

Gloy, Karen (1996): Das Verständnis der Natur. Vol. 2. Die Geschichte des ganzheitlichen Denkens. München: C.H. Beck.

Habermas, Jürgen (1984): Theory of communcative action. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

Hummel, Diana; Jahn, Thomas; Kramm, Johanna; Stieß, Immanuel (2024): Gesellschaftliche Naturverhältnisse. Grundbegriffe und Denkraum für die Gestaltung von sozial-ökologischen Transformationen. In: Marco Sonnberger, Alena Bleicher and Matthias Groß (eds.): Handbuch Umweltsoziologie. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, pp. 15–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-37218-7_1

Latour, Bruno (1993): We have never been modern. New York, NY: Harvester Wheatsheaf.

Latour, Bruno (2004): Politics of nature. How to bring the sciences into democracy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Latour, Bruno (2013): An inquiry into modes of existence. An anthropology of the moderns. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Lorenz, Stephan (2017): Ecological criticism of growth and the means and ends of technology. A pragmatist perspective on societal dynamics. In: Journal of Cleaner Production 166, pp. 98–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.08.008

Lorenz, Stephan (2021): Soziale Fragen ökologischer Krisen. In: Johanna Brandstetter, Kerstin Bronner, Stefan Köngeter, Andreas Laib, Axel Pohl and Steve Stiehler (eds.): Soziale Frage(n) der Zukunft. Berlin: Frank & Timme, pp. 47–65.

Lorenz, Stephan (2024a): Sozio-ökologische Konflikte verstehen. In: Leviathan 52 (4), pp. 525–554. https://doi.org/10.5771/0340-0425-2024-4-525

Lorenz, Stephan (2024b): Grenzen, Krisen und Alternativen des Wachstums. Gesellschaftstheoretische Perspektiven. In: Marco Sonnberger, Alena Bleicher and Matthias Groß (eds.): Handbuch Umweltsoziologie. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, pp. 141–157. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-37218-7_20

Luhmann, Niklas (1989): Ecological communication. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Mitchell, Timothy (2009): Carbon democracy. In: Economy and Society 38 (3), pp. 399–432. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085140903020598

Pigou, Arthur (1920): The economics of welfare. London: Macmillan.

PIK – Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (2015): Four of nine planetary boundaries now crossed. In: PIK Latest News, 16.01.2015. Available online at https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest-news/four-of-nine-planetary-boundaries-now-crossed, last accessed on 09.10.2025.