1994 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Inquiry into Public Decision Systems Enabling the Preservation of the Environment : a philosophical and systematic analysis of the ideals concerning the environment
| Project/Area Number |
05301109
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Co-operative Research (A)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
環境保全
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| Research Institution | Nagoya University |
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Principal Investigator |
MORIGIWA Yasutomo Nagoya University, School of Law, Professor, 法学部, 教授 (40107488)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
DEGUCHI Hiroshi Global Communication Center, International University, Associate Professor, グローバルコミュニケーションセンター, 助教授 (60192655)
TAJIMA Masaki Tohoku University of Art & Design, Faculty of Culture, Associate Professor, 教養部, 助教授 (20147490)
SATOU Toshiki Tokyo Institute of Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Associate Professor, 工学部, 助教授 (10221285)
INOKI Takenori Osaka University, Faculty of Economics, Professor, 経済学部, 教授 (00107111)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1993 – 1994
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| Keywords | public good / nation state / intergenerational ethics / public decision making / Coase's Theorem / social symbolic interaction / knowledge as system / environmental rights |
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| Research Abstract |
A.This project takes an intra-social-scientific perspective comprised from philosophy, law, economics, sociology and system engineering, focuses on the assumptions and the claims of the social ethics of sustainable development among others, endeavors to build an defensible ideal concerning the preservation of the environment, while keeping in mind the problems of implementation thereof. The approach is based on the heritage of the free market approach while proposing ideals concerning institution building designed to overcome the shortcomings of this approach. At the same time, acknowledging that the fundamental solution of the problem of environment involves an appropriate system of income distribution, principles of redistribution based on the liberal ideal of social justice were investigated.
B.It is widely known that the problem of environment taken on an international basis is a deeply entrenched, structural problem. What is not known is an effective method of analysis of the struc
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ture. We have taken up the concept of public space called "society" and followed its establishment in 19th century Europe, and the development of the method of management of society and the accompanying problems involved. The perspective we have developed is to understand the development of the environmental issues as part and parcel of the development of society and the lack of its management techniques.
Through analysis from this perspective, we have uncovered the following : environmental issues which were heretofore economically understood as problems of externality were not able to come up with satisfactory answers for this very reason ; the formulation of the issues was inappropriate. What is needed is a theory which provides answers to the question of who is to provide for the social cost of environmental fatigue. Further, the very concept of social cost was brought into question. Could it hold water? The assumption was that the entity called the state would be able to distribute the costs of internalizing the externalities in a fair and equitable way. However, as in the case of Japan where the tragedies named 'kohgai' had come into being, any serious attempt to address the issue of the distribution of the responsibilty for environmental conservation came only after irreparable damage was afflicted on the environment and the health of residents. Put this way, it is easy to see that the correct form of analysis involves clarifying the mechanism whereby a spontaneous entity called society came to be partially controlled by the half-spontaneous, half-intentional institution called the state, and the misgivings arising from the lack of understanding of the working mechanism of social control.
In order to effectively control society, direct methods prove to be inherently insufficient. The indirect method of control through the market mechanism is a necessity. However, the market has its misgivings or failures. What is needed here is a set of principles enabling the modification of the market such that the failures subside and the social system distributing the costs of environmental preservation can be called fair and equitable. Less
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