Environmental Justice Theory

Author: Wen Zi
Publisher: People's Press of Shanghai
Book Description:
The exploration of environmental issues reminds me of the story of a North American colonial resident. He was very concerned whether he had enough firewood to last the winter, so he chopped a lot of firewood until he thought it was sufficient. For safety's sake, he specifically went to ask an old Native American sage if the coming winter would be exceptionally cold. The old Native American replied that he anticipated an unprecedentedly harsh winter. Thus, the immigrant chopped and chopped until he had stored twice as much firewood as he had initially prepared for winter heating. He now confidently believed that the firewood was enough to get through the winter, but to ensure accuracy, he still went to ask the Native American. The Native American said that an abnormal winter was about to arrive. The immigrant then chopped even more firewood until there was firewood all around him. He went back to ask the Native American again, and the old man said that this winter would be the coldest in history. "How do you know?" the immigrant asked. The old man replied, "The whites have stored a large amount of firewood."
This story is intended to point out that humans play multiple roles within the environmental system. We are both members of the environment and its observers. Therefore, when we discuss environmental issues, to a certain extent, we are actually discussing ourselves, and this exploration can sometimes be deeper than we initially realize. Like the North American colonial resident, becoming more aware of our roles in the environment can be helpful to us. This is one of the reasons why I wrote about environmental issues.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Translator's Preface
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Importance of Environmental Justice
§1.1 Introduction
§1.2 The Origin of Justice Issues
§1.3 The First-Come, First-Served Response to Scarcity
§1.4 The Need for Coordinated Environmental Restrictions
§1.5 The Necessity of Justice in Voluntary Groups
§1.6 The State Appears to Need No Voluntary Cooperation
§1.7 The Vulnerability of Modern Society
§1.8 The Necessity of Justice in Social Order
§1.9 Education and Publicity
§1.10 The Necessity of Environmental Justice
Chapter 2 Principles of Justice
§2.1 The Formal Characteristics of Justice
§2.2 Principles of Justice
§2.3 Implicit Agreements
§2.4 Why Agreements Become Outdated
§2.5 The Origin of Disputes
§2.6 A Sense of Justice
Chapter 3 Property and Virtue
Principles and Theories
§3.1 The Principle of Ownership
§3.2 Justification Theory
Virtue Theory
§3.3 Introduction
§3.4 Secular Puritanism
§3.5 The Continued Influence of Virtue Theory
§3.6 The Unacceptability of Virtue Theory
Chapter 4 Property and Freedom: Liberal Theories
§4.1 Introduction
§4.2 The Least Dangerous State
§4.3 Private Property
§4.4 Liberal Justice: The Rights Theory
§4.5 Harms
§4.6 Illegal Infringement
§4.7 A Critique of Liberals and Pollution
§4.8 Original Acquisition of Property
§4.9 The Issue of Scarcity
§4.10 Our Past Unjust Acquisition
Chapter 5 Property and Efficiency: Efficiency Theory
§5.1 Introduction
§5.2 Efficiency and Free Markets
§5.3 The Advantages of Efficiency Theory
Chapter 6 Human Rights
Chapter 7 Animal Rights
Chapter 8 Utilitarian Theory
Chapter 9 The Limitations of Utilitarianism
Chapter 10 The Characteristics and Limitations of Cost-Benefit Analysis
Chapter 11 John Rawls' Theory of Justice
Chapter 12 The Structure of Inquiry
Chapter 13 Biocentrism and Ecocentrism
Chapter 14 The Concentric Circles Theory
Chapter 15 Individual Obligations
Chinese-English Glossary
Afterword