The appeal of the circular economy revisited: on track for transformative change or enabler of moral licensing?
Abstract The proposal of an economy that is circular and without the need for material or energy input has an irresistible appeal to those who recognize the precautionary concept of planetary boundaries and acknowledge that resources are limited. Thus, in the public discourse, its narrative outperfo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02815-x |
| _version_ | 1797275405495828480 |
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| author | Hans Eickhoff |
| author_facet | Hans Eickhoff |
| author_sort | Hans Eickhoff |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The proposal of an economy that is circular and without the need for material or energy input has an irresistible appeal to those who recognize the precautionary concept of planetary boundaries and acknowledge that resources are limited. Thus, in the public discourse, its narrative outperforms other lines of arguments when it comes to keeping radical critics of destructive extractivism and the growth imperative in check and averting discussion of degrowth, post-growth, or other systemic alternatives by larger segments of the population and government bodies. Moreover, the myth of a circular economy has the additional benefit that it can win over parts of the environmental movement that is apprehensive of radical and transformative change, particularly in the urban milieus of a middle class that enjoys the privileges of the current social order. In this paper, I argue that the circular economy narrative tends to hinder the necessary systemic transformation while entailing a wide range of specific measures that deserve to be recognized for their merit. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:13:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3e82e5ac870843b3abfc61c68290e1e7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2662-9992 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:13:53Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-3e82e5ac870843b3abfc61c68290e1e72024-03-05T18:01:10ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922024-02-011111810.1057/s41599-024-02815-xThe appeal of the circular economy revisited: on track for transformative change or enabler of moral licensing?Hans Eickhoff0Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences (CICS.NOVA), Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (NOVA FCSH)Abstract The proposal of an economy that is circular and without the need for material or energy input has an irresistible appeal to those who recognize the precautionary concept of planetary boundaries and acknowledge that resources are limited. Thus, in the public discourse, its narrative outperforms other lines of arguments when it comes to keeping radical critics of destructive extractivism and the growth imperative in check and averting discussion of degrowth, post-growth, or other systemic alternatives by larger segments of the population and government bodies. Moreover, the myth of a circular economy has the additional benefit that it can win over parts of the environmental movement that is apprehensive of radical and transformative change, particularly in the urban milieus of a middle class that enjoys the privileges of the current social order. In this paper, I argue that the circular economy narrative tends to hinder the necessary systemic transformation while entailing a wide range of specific measures that deserve to be recognized for their merit.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02815-x |
| spellingShingle | Hans Eickhoff The appeal of the circular economy revisited: on track for transformative change or enabler of moral licensing? Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| title | The appeal of the circular economy revisited: on track for transformative change or enabler of moral licensing? |
| title_full | The appeal of the circular economy revisited: on track for transformative change or enabler of moral licensing? |
| title_fullStr | The appeal of the circular economy revisited: on track for transformative change or enabler of moral licensing? |
| title_full_unstemmed | The appeal of the circular economy revisited: on track for transformative change or enabler of moral licensing? |
| title_short | The appeal of the circular economy revisited: on track for transformative change or enabler of moral licensing? |
| title_sort | appeal of the circular economy revisited on track for transformative change or enabler of moral licensing |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02815-x |
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