Part I - Collective action and groups

Summary

Our ability to work together or not has a dramatic impact on our ability to resolve any environmental problem. We therefore begin by exploring the concept of collective action, or cooperation. The theory of collective action has been developed in multiple independent disciplines. The perspective of evolutionary theory frames collective action as a mystery: why would individuals cooperate with each other when it is individually costly and publicly beneficial? In environmental studies, the failure to act collectively is associated with the tragedy of the commons, or environmental ruin.

The first chapter in this part deals with the tragedy of the commons as the dominant framing for environmental property rights. Here we will also interrogate the utility of this framing and consider others as well. Chapter 2 builds directly on Chapter 1 by asking how social and ecological boundaries can facilitate cooperation and address the tragedy of the commons. In this chapter we also consider the different types of boundaries that we see and what function they play. Finally, in Chapter 3 we turn to the primary mechanisms for cooperation among humans or any species: reciprocity and kinship. We will also see that the human psychologies of reciprocity and kinship can be used to motivate environmental stewardship and reframe the Western perspective on environmental property rights.