Description: In Democracy and the Claims of Nature, the leading thinkers in the fields of environmental, political, and social theory come together to discuss the tensions and sympathies of democratic ideals and environmental values. The prominent contributors reflect upon where we stand in our understanding of the relationship between democracy and the claims of nature. Democracy and the Claims of Nature bridges the gap between the often competing ideals of the two fields, leading to a greater understanding of each for the other.
Brief description: Robert Gottlieb (1931 - 2023) was a legendary book editor and writer who shaped the modern literary canon. He was editor-in-chief of Simon and Schuster, the head of Alfred A. Knopf, and editor of The New Yorker. He contributed frequently to The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, and The New York Review of Books, and the New York Observer as dance critic. His books include Great Expectations: The Sons and Daughters of Charles Dickens, George Balanchine: The Ballet Maker, Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt, Avid Reader: A Life, and a collection of essays Near-Death Experiences . . . and Others. In 2015, he was presented with the Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. A documentary film exploring his fifty-year relationship with the writer Robert Caro, Turn Every Page, was released in 2022.
Review Quotes:
"This collection will become the definitive text to consult to understand the interplay of democratic norms and environmental values. In this benchmark study, the leading philosophers in the field integrate past research and lay out the intellectual agenda for the future." --Mark Sagoff, Institute of Philosophy and Public Policy, University of Maryland
"It is a testament to the innovation shown by the contributors that this volume exhibits such a high degree of originality. The book successfully traverses environmental ethics, democratic theory and environmental movements. It is a valuable contribution to an important area of green political theory." --Political Studies Review "There is no more necessary debate within environmental studies than that defining the 'proper' role for responsive democratic politics in making collective choices regarding nature. Should anticipatory institutions, within a republic, regulate humanity's use of the environment on the basis of prior principle, or should collective choices only be made when communities perceive the need for them and give their active consent? This important book sets out the moral, political, and social parameters of this debate in stark relief and challenges the reader to consider all its ramifications." --John Martin Gillroy, director of the Environmental Studies Program, Bucknell University