Gorman, Jamie
(2014)
Connecting our analysis to create alliances: opportunities for action arising
from neoliberalism's joint challenge to communities and our environment.
In: Sociologial Association of Ireland Postgraduate Conference, 7th-8th March, 2014, National University of Ireland Galway.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
This paper argues that neoliberalism, as a common threat for social justice and
environmental concerns, can create mutual consensus for political action across diverse
interest groups. The paper highlights neoliberial trends towards the commodification of
community and the marketisation of the environment. It identifies three characteristics of
commercialisation, depoliticisation and cosumption. The paper finds that many proposed
solutions remain within the neoliberal paradigm and seek to capitalise on the crisis rather
than provide for transformative social change. It therefore explores how counter-hegemonic
sollutions might be developed through effective alliances between community development
and the environmental movement. It maps out the diverse spaces where consensus for
political action might be achieved, highlighting examples in marginalised and pollution
affected communities, communities promoting sustainability and communities resisting
unsustainability. The paper suggests that processes of dialogue and alliance building can
support more effective engagement between community development and
environmentalism. This paper has implications for how the social professions responds to
environmental issues at a time when climate change is increasingly affecting communities
with whom they are concerned and with whom they work for social justice.
| Item Type: |
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
|
| Keywords: |
Community development; environmental justice; neoliberalism; action research; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Applied Social Studies |
| Item ID: |
4841 |
| Depositing User: |
Jamie Gorman
|
| Date Deposited: |
24 Mar 2014 10:15 |
| Refereed: |
No |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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