Taking environmental action was our theme this week. We started by learning about grid group (GG) theory which helps us understand our differences. GG theory has looked at difference in risk perception, political party support, and environmental policy amongst many others. Many of these differences arise from our own ideas about social relations which are broken up into two different key axes: 1. Grid: social hierarchy (high/low authority) and 2. Group: social cohesion (high/low solidarity). Four different GG types result from the two axes: 1. Fatalist (Capricious), 2. Hierarchist (tolerant within limits), 3. Individualist (nature benign) and 4. Egalitarian (ephemeral). You never miss water till the well runs dry: crisis and creativity in California by Denise Lach explains why well-intended attempts to alleviate pressing social ills too often derail, and how effective, efficient and broadly acceptable solutions to social problems can be focused. Each time one of the 4 perspectives (hierarchy, individualism, egalitarianism and fatalism) is excluded from collective decision-making, governance failure results.
ENVS 