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The Politics of Global Warming in the U.S.

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Bioethical Insights into Values and Policy

Part of the book series: Public Health Ethics Analysis ((PHES,volume 4))

Abstract

The response of the U.S. government to evidence of global warming has been limited and fragmented. Several theories from political science shed light on why it is difficult to shift the focus of policy makers away from economic development and undermine support for environmental protection. Some of the same political forces that limit collective action on the issue of carbon emissions and global warming within the U.S. also offer insights into the challenges of bringing about international cooperation in this arena. The power of coal, gas and oil companies to block change and the bias of a market based political economy to place economic development over other social goals are both challenges faced by governments throughout the world. The U.S. is notorious for fragmented institutions with strong veto points that block changes even when they are favored by a majority of the population, but the institutional challenge of enforcing global agreements among autonomous nation states is even greater than the challenge of overcoming barriers to collective action within the U.S.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This statement is not meant to imply that all or even most democratic theorists agree with economists that social welfare should depend only on the welfare levels of individual citizens. Stephen Elkin has argued, for example, that “Madison believed that a central task of those making the laws of the republic should be more than simply to aggregate interests” (Elkin Stephen 1991, p. 24). It is equally clear that most democratic theorists, Madison included, believe that any legitimate social institution must promote the welfare of its citizens.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Michael K. Gusmano Ph.D.

  2. The Hastings Center, Garrison, NY, USA

    Michael K. Gusmano Ph.D.

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  1. Michael K. Gusmano Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Michael K. Gusmano Ph.D. .

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  1. Chair of the Bioethics Dept, Sch. Med., St George’s University (SGU), WINDREF, Great River, New York, USA

    Cheryl C. Macpherson

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Gusmano, M.K. (2016). The Politics of Global Warming in the U.S.. In: Macpherson, C. (eds) Bioethical Insights into Values and Policy. Public Health Ethics Analysis, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26167-6_13

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