Environmental sociology and the Frankfurt School 2: ideology, techno-science, reconciliation

Abstract

In a two-article project, I demonstrate that the first-generation Frankfurt School’s critical theory can conceptually inform sociological examinations of societal–environmental relations. This second article clarifies and systematizes the theories of Adorno, Horkheimer, and Marcuse in the context of current debates and issues in environmental sociology: (1) the constructionism/realism debate and its relation to the critique of ideology; (2) the role of science and technology in human–nature relations; and (3) how society might bring itself into a sustainable and ethical relationship with the environment. I argue the Frankfurt School’s metatheory can help environmental sociologists denaturalize human–nature relations that appear fixed; explain how their theories of science and technology transcend the debate of whether science and technology are harmful to or helpful for the environment; and show that the underpinning normative goal of early critical theory was to reconcile human–nature relations. In addition to explicating these broader contributions, I provide a concrete example of how their views can inform sociological studies of environmental disasters.