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Real-World Sustainable Citizenship between Political Consumerism and Material Practices
[journal article]
Abstract While the number of theoretical concepts surrounding sustainable citizenship, political consumerism and ethical lifestyles is rising continuously, this article is interested in how citizens themselves delineate sustainable citizenship through their practices. Asking which contours real-world sustain... view more
While the number of theoretical concepts surrounding sustainable citizenship, political consumerism and ethical lifestyles is rising continuously, this article is interested in how citizens themselves delineate sustainable citizenship through their practices. Asking which contours real-world sustainable citizenship has, we draw on the practice turn. From this perspective, sustainable citizenship might be an empirical nexus of material practices, like buying organic products or sharing goods. These practices rely on dispositions that include practical rules, attitudes and political values. With survey data from Germany (N = 1350) and using principle component analysis, we reconstruct sustainable citizenship through stable and widespread real-world patterns. The results suggest that sustainable citizenship is a relatively coherent, nonetheless hybrid bundle of performances and dispositions. Real-world sustainable citizenship most resembles political consumerism, but consists overall of three distinct practices: sustainable purchasing, reduced consumption, and green mobility. All three are shown to be connected to engaged citizenship norms and the intention to advance social-ecological change. However, social class seems to prevent some citizens particularly from applying sustainable purchasing, while age and infrastructures constrain green mobility. Altogether, our results show that citizens from all social backgrounds practice sustainable citizenship. Yet they do so through different forms of practices, adjusted to their capabilities.... view less
Keywords
microcensus; citizenship; sustainability; consumption; boycott; socioecological factors; citizens' involvement
Classification
Ecology, Environment
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
sustainable citizenship; buycotting; practice theory; ecological values; green consumer behavior
Document language
English
Publication Year
2019
Page/Pages
p. 1-22
Journal
Social Sciences, 8 (2019) 11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci8110311
ISSN
2076-0760
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed