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List of contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Author Biographies
Introduction
Power, Politics and Unsustainable Consumption
Lucie Middlemiss, Cindy Isenhour, Mari Martiskainen
Section I: On Political Economy and Sustainable Consumption
- A Consuming Globalism: On Power and the Post-Paris Agreement Politics of Climate and Consumption
Cindy Isenhour
- Practice Does Not Make Perfect: Sustainable Consumption, Practice Theory and the Question of Power
Dennis Soron
- Sources of Power for Sustainable Consumption: Where to Look
Doris Fuchs, Sylvia Lorek, Antonietta Di Giulio, Rico Defila
Section II: On Governmentality and the Notion of the Subject in Sustainable Consumption
- Pro-environmental Behaviour Change and Governmentality: Counter-Conduct and the Making up of Environmental Individuals
Tom Hargreaves
- Freedom, Autonomy and Sustainable Behaviours: The Politics of Designing Consumer Choice
Tobias Gumbert
- The ‘Double Dividend’ Discourse in Sustainable Consumption: A Critical Commentary
Lucie Middlemiss, David Wingate and Anna Wesselink
Section III: On the Politics of Identity and Difference in Sustainable Consumption
- Housing as a Function of Consumption and Production in the United Kingdom
Mari Martiskainen
- Power and Politics in the (Work-Life) Balance: A Mixed Methods Evaluation of the Risks and Rewards of Downshifting
Jacob Hammond & Emily Huddart Kennedy
- Who Participates in Community-Based Sustainable Consumption Projects and Why Does It Matter? A Constructively Critical Approach
Manisha Anantharaman, Emily Huddart Kennedy, Lucie Middlemiss and Sarah Bradbury
Index
About the author
Cindy Isenhour is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology and in the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, USA.
Mari Martiskainen is a Research Fellow at Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex, UK
Lucie Middlemiss is Associate Professor in Sustainability, and Co-director of the Sustainability Research Institute, in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds, UK.
Summary
This volume presents empirical and theoretical illustrations of the various means through which politics and power influence (un)sustainable consumption practices, policies and perspectives. The authors discuss why current efforts have largely failed to meet environmental targets and explore promising directions for research, policy and practice
Additional text
"This timely, accessible, and thought-provoking collection brings together leading scholars to deftly explore the systems and norms keeping us on pathways to social and ecological disintegration. It is a vital reminder that there are no easy wins when it comes to changing production and consumption patterns, with the authors facing key challenges head-on. An essential read for policy makers, change agents, business leaders, and researchers alike." -- Kersty Hobson, University of Cardiff, UK"The authors of this book do not flinch from asking the hardest questions about the causes of climate change, the defining crisis of our time. They move the discussion of consumption and sustainability forward in new and important directions and challenge a lot of the accepted wisdom. Essential reading for anyone searching for ways to promote a more sustainable kind of consumer culture." -- Richard Wilk,Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, and Director of the Open Anthropology Institute, USA"This is a bold and engaging book that tells it like it is: research, policy and practice in sustainable consumption have failed to take power, politics and social difference seriously. And in answer to this claim is offered a set of theoretically and empirically rich chapters by leading experts from around the world that critically interrogate a wide range of intersecting themes at multiple levels. It is exactly the kind of collection needed to shake up this emerging interdisciplinary field." -- Sherilyn MacGregor, Sustainable Consumption Institute and Politics Department, The University of Manchester, UK"This book studies the trajectories of increasing household debt in the contexts of the USA, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and Norway. The author examines remedies to prevent and alleviate the over-indebtedness “epidemic,” cr
