Socio-cultural factors relate to social and cultural structures, institutions, and conditions. These influence how the environment is perceived and how (relatively) important environmental values, interests or concerns are. The general argument or assumption linked to this category of factors is that the more environmentally aware people in a country are, and the greater the importance they assign to environmental values, the greater also the likelihood that governments will (have to) take the environment seriously, and the better their environmental performance will be. While plausible, if people do not care about the environment, why would a government? The connection between societal beliefs and government policies is not as straightforward as the argument suggests. Among the factors that influence or intervene in this relationship are the kind of environmental views that people hold (their interpretation of what the environment is, and of the place of humans), how diverse or homogeneous societal values, beliefs and views are, the way environmental views relate to other or broader views (such as on the “good life”; worldviews, religions), what the dominant or prevailing values, beliefs and views in society are, as well as factors that relate to why governments do what they do (many of which relate to political-institutional and political-economic factors). Given the importance of cognitive frameworks for environmental integration, one key question is to what extent the environmental views in a society, particularly the most prevalent views, are holistic. If most people, including those in government, view the environment in a fragmented, reductionist, and instrumentalist manner, the social basis for adopting a comprehensive approach to environmental integration is weak or nonexistent.
What values, beliefs and views people in a society hold is strongly related to another set of factors, the social composition and structure of, and the position of groups in, society. Values, beliefs, and views can only exist if they have bearers. In most modern societies, there is a plurality of groups with different values, interests, and ideologies that influence their environmental views. Social classes (from a Marxist perspective) and/or the social stratification of societies (from a sociology perspective), the ethnic composition of a society, and the position and role of women, among others, are all significant factors affecting the distribution of values and views in a society, with implications for the way the environment is perceived and treated. Another key factor in this context is the existence of, and degree of support for, the environmental movement (in all its diversity). Arguably, the stronger the environmental movement in a country, the greater its influence on prevailing views towards the environment.
This last statement highlights another set of factors that influence a society’s values, beliefs, and ideological views. While societal values and beliefs are often perceived as relatively enduring, passed down from one generation to the next, they are subject to change, and arguably, increasingly so. Rather than taking them as given, we must take account of the extraordinary efforts exercised by groups in society to change or even shape people’s values, beliefs, and views. The environmental movement is not alone in attempting this; businesses and governments also spend a lot of effort (and money) on influencing people’s opinions in what can be characterised as a veritable battle for the hearts and minds. The media and the PR industry play a significant role in this battle.
It is not difficult to see the international dimensions of these socio-cultural factors. With the global spread of radio, TV, the internet, and mobile phones, people are exposed to a broader and more diverse range of values, beliefs, and views than ever before. What this means and where this leads to are questions that are open to interpretation, but that this is a potentially crucial factor in the dynamic of socio-cultural change or evolution is hard to deny. From its beginnings, the rise of environmental awareness and thinking has been an international phenomenon, influencing or shaping people’s views as if borders did not exist. The media have also evolved into a global force, despite governments’ efforts to maintain some degree of control. Although nationalism is far from dead, one can discern the beginnings of the emergence of a global civil society, with many organisations and people within countries developing links at the international or even global level. Although the full significance of these factors has yet to be revealed, these international and global developments are highly relevant to environmental integration.
For a more extensive discussion on the importance of socio-cultural factors for environmental integration, see the pages under the theme Different Ways of Seeing the World, Towards a New Environmental Paradigm? and Understanding Ideological Dominance. I discuss the socio-cultural change needed to advance towards sustainable and desirable societies on the Socio-Cultural Transformation page.