Synthesizing individualistic and collectivistic perspectives on environmental and collective action through a relational perspective

Abstract

Theorizing about environmental or collective action relies on individualistic or collectivistic assumptions, respectively. Thus, a unified explanation for lowering one’s thermostat (a form of environmental action) and participating in mass protest (a form of collective action) is lacking. Building on a broad literature that views humans as relational beings, I aim to show that (a) a relational perspective synthesizes these two perspectives by reconceptualizing environmental and collective action as types of social interaction that regulate social relationships and (b) therefore, environmental and collective action have a similar motivational profile. This implies that both collective and environmental action are ultimately relational phenomena; that any assumption that environmental action is motivated by individualistic concerns and collective action by collectivistic concerns, limits our understanding of either type of action; and that future theorizing and research on environmental and collective action will benefit from adopting a relational perspective.