Introduction
The modern world has a high pace of technological and economic development but still faces numerical social and environmental crises. Liam Downey examines in his work Inequality, democracy, and the environment, the nature of these problems and tries to explain the causes of their occurrence. The author emphasizes that organizations controlled by the elite play a key role in creating global problems and proves his statement by analyzing literature and case studies.
Main body
The main issues for consideration that the author selects are the process of globalization; the problems of mining and agriculture; the U.S. energy and military policy. These issues are presented as crucial in causing different global problems (Downey, 2015). For example, the growth of industry and agriculture causes environmental pollution, while globalization exacerbates economic inequality between states. Downey (2015) explores the actions of various organizations, companies, and even political entities (such as the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, or the George Bush Administration), to find their effects on the environment. This research provides an opportunity to trace a direct relationship between the adoption of cost-effective actions or laws and the occurrence of environmental and social problems.
Most of the research in the book is aimed at studying the history of the formation and functioning of elite-controlled organizations, as well as experience in overcoming global problems. However, the identification of mistakes of the past, their analysis, and evaluation assist in finding new principles that help to avoid their recurrence. This knowledge also helps to improve forecasting skills and choose the best ways of solving problems. Thus, Liam Downey’s scientific work is important for Environmental Sociology, since it studies the activities of elite-controlled organizations as a source of social and environmental problems.
Inequality, democracy, and the environment also has a clear structure and organization. In the first part of the book, the author presents his theoretical arguments: he describes two popular theories of environmental degradation, namely, the study of social structure, and the research on macro-structural environmental sociology (Downey, 2015). He uses analysis of literature to find gaps in the premises of these theories. In the second part, he demonstrates the empirical evidence of the influence of elite-controlled structures on social and environmental conditions in the world. Downey (2015) uses numerous case studies and official documents of international organizations, which, in practice, confirm his thesis. Thus, it can be determined that the author’s research has high quality, since it examines the issues from different perspectives and uses credible sources.
Moreover, Downey’s research helps environmentalists and sociologists identify the sources of global challenges and delve into a study of them. Scientists and politicians can direct their efforts to address the crisis after studying the impact of institutional inequality in the world and its relationship with the emerging regional and world’s problems. This knowledge helps to find new ways of countries’ development without bringing harm to the world, as well as avoid possible crises in the future.
Conclusion
Therefore, Inequality, democracy, and the environment by Liam Downey is a study that raises the issue of solving global challenges to the next level. The author explores the issue unusually and controversially, which enables scientists to approach the resolution of problems and crises from the other side. In addition, solutions aimed at eliminating causes are more effective than dealing with consequences.
References
Downey, L. (2015). Inequality, democracy, and the environment. New York, NY: New York University Press.