#12234. No (sociological) excuses for not going green: How do environmental activists make sense of social inequalities and relate to the working class?

July 2026publication date
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Journal’s subject area:
Sociology and Political Science;
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Abstract:
Some environmental activists argue that poverty is ‘no excuse’ for not going green. Employing participant observation among middle-class activists, the article explores their relation to the working class and examines the consequences of their endeavors on local class relations. It describes the tension between their goal of mainstreaming environmental reflexivity and the stubborn existence of material inequalities and constraints. While their efforts are configured by a moral economy of environmental responsibility which assigns an undifferentiated moral obligation to consume sustainably to all individuals, they make sense of social differences by drawing on culturalist representations of poverty and folk social theories. These sense-making practices enhance rather than alleviate attributions of blame against working-class people and contribute to reinforcing the activists’ dominant symbolic position.
Keywords:
Environmentalism; lifestyle politics; moral economies; reflexivity; social class

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