{"title":"Are liberal objections to consumption corridors justified? On the relation of freedom and limits in green liberal thought","authors":"Tobias Gumbert, Carolin Bohn","doi":"10.1080/15487733.2021.1878733","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The concept of consumption corridors proposes minimum and maximum limits to consumption on the normative premises of justice, human wellbeing, and guarantees of a good life for all. A central objection to the idea is that limits on resource use would interfere broadly with liberal freedoms, and consumption corridors would thus not be compatible with a liberal democratic setting. This claim rests on the assumption that protecting liberal freedom rights and enforcing limits constitute opposing forces. Here, liberal freedom is equated with the expansion of (unlimited) options of choice: the more options people have, and the fewer limits that are imposed on them, the greater the overall level of freedom. Therefore, discussions of limits are often reduced to negative restrictions and undemocratic demands. To problematize this rationale, we argue that in most liberal accounts, freedom and limits are mutually supportive of each other, and that the understanding of freedom as “the absence of limits” is in fact a particular understanding that has become dominant. Against this backdrop, we develop the notion of” green liberal freedom” that posits limits as a core concern of liberal understandings of freedom. We suggest that the recognition of the environment as “provider of basic needs,” democratic deliberation, and capability to reflect upon and judge conflicting values in light of individual and collective versions of the good life are important “building blocks” of an adjusted concept of freedom that is at once compatible with liberal thought and in support of the negotiation and implementation of consumption corridors.","PeriodicalId":35192,"journal":{"name":"Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy","volume":"1 1","pages":"90 - 101"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"6","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2021.1878733","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 6
Abstract
Abstract The concept of consumption corridors proposes minimum and maximum limits to consumption on the normative premises of justice, human wellbeing, and guarantees of a good life for all. A central objection to the idea is that limits on resource use would interfere broadly with liberal freedoms, and consumption corridors would thus not be compatible with a liberal democratic setting. This claim rests on the assumption that protecting liberal freedom rights and enforcing limits constitute opposing forces. Here, liberal freedom is equated with the expansion of (unlimited) options of choice: the more options people have, and the fewer limits that are imposed on them, the greater the overall level of freedom. Therefore, discussions of limits are often reduced to negative restrictions and undemocratic demands. To problematize this rationale, we argue that in most liberal accounts, freedom and limits are mutually supportive of each other, and that the understanding of freedom as “the absence of limits” is in fact a particular understanding that has become dominant. Against this backdrop, we develop the notion of” green liberal freedom” that posits limits as a core concern of liberal understandings of freedom. We suggest that the recognition of the environment as “provider of basic needs,” democratic deliberation, and capability to reflect upon and judge conflicting values in light of individual and collective versions of the good life are important “building blocks” of an adjusted concept of freedom that is at once compatible with liberal thought and in support of the negotiation and implementation of consumption corridors.
期刊介绍:
Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy is a refereed, open-access journal which recognizes that climate change and other socio-environmental challenges require significant transformation of existing systems of consumption and production. Complex and diverse arrays of societal factors and institutions will in coming decades need to reconfigure agro-food systems, implement renewable energy sources, and reinvent housing, modes of mobility, and lifestyles for the current century and beyond. These innovations will need to be formulated in ways that enhance global equity, reduce unequal access to resources, and enable all people on the planet to lead flourishing lives within biophysical constraints. The journal seeks to advance scientific and political perspectives and to cultivate transdisciplinary discussions involving researchers, policy makers, civic entrepreneurs, and others. The ultimate objective is to encourage the design and deployment of both local experiments and system innovations that contribute to a more sustainable future by empowering individuals and organizations and facilitating processes of social learning.