UNPUNISHABLE SINS II.

2021

Irk, Ferenc:
The metamorphosis of the exploitation of man and the environment

Short summary of content:

Most of the consumer habits in our globalised world are incompatible with fairness as a supreme value of Europe and are consequently unacceptable from a moral point of view. The risk management of human life and health and the natural environment as well is flawed. This is due to the imbalance of the „risk-culture” and the „security-culture”, which limit and supplement each other mutually. As a consequence, production exploits the people involved in it and the natural environment as well. It would be necessary to take steps against overconsumption, not only through words and written documents but also to put an end to this metamorphosis through actions.

The cycle continuing from production through consumption to the production of waste and the destruction of the environment and going on to production again is a systemic error that can be neither addressed nor corrected in the long term through legal instruments (especially through instruments of the penal law) only.

The Covid-19 pandemic is causing significant economic and social traumas. There seems to be a break in the dominance of global economic centres often operating in symbiosis with the public administrative organs of the different states. Therefore the time has come for a new approach to prevail in the European Union, which is based on the European value system, a system that first slowed down and later stopped exploitation and the destruction of the environment, which puts an end to exploitation, reforms the culture of consumption and prefers the traditional European values.

Science, education, electronic media articles

QR code resources

Additional Internet resources

Content:

Introduction....................................................................................17
I. General issues......................................................................................................19
1. Risks and globalisation....................................................................................21
1.1. Definitions of risk....................................................................................22
1.2. On public risks.........................................................................................24
1.3. Risks and values......................................................................................26
1.4. Acceptable and unacceptable risks..........................................................29
1.5. Risks that are dangerous to society.........................................................31
2. Risk – culture – security..................................................................................37
2.1. Risk, culture, risk-culture........................................................................37
2.1.1. The relationship between risk and culture – theoretical approaches.......................41
2.1.2. Risk-culture in practice...................................................................47
2.1.3. Conclusions that can lead to generalisations.................................52
2.2. Risk and security. On security-culture....................................................56
2.2.1. The relationship between security and culture – theoretical approaches...........56
2.2.2. Security-culture in practice.............................................................58
Summary..............................................................................................................61
II. Specific issues.....................................................................................................63
Introductory ideas................................................................................................65
3. Production, consumption, destruction of products..........................................67
3.1. The trreadmill of production. From the treadwheel to the treadmill.
The essence of the ToP theory.................................................................67
3.1.1. The notion of the (word, expression) treadmill...............................67
3.1.1.1. The first meaning (Etimological approach).............................67
3.1.1.2. The second meaning (Economic/sociological/ecological approach)................70
3.1.2. The essence of the ToP theory.........................................................73
3.1.2.1. Introducing the ToP theory......................................................73
3.1.2.2. The relationship of the ToP theory to the livable environmnet....................................76
3.1.2.3. The essence of the ToP theory in a question and answer format.....................78
3.1.3. The assessment of the ToP theory – opinions..................................84
3.1.4. Topical issues of criminology and criminal policy..........................88
3.2. The risks of productive work...................................................................93
3.2.1. The threatening risks of production................................................94
3.2.1.1. Production...............................................................................95
3.2.1.2. Transport.................................................................................97
3.2.1.3. Consumption...........................................................................97
3.2.1.4. Destruction..............................................................................98
3.2.2. The metamorphosis of the four phenomena (production, consumption, transport, destruction of products)...........................99
4. Culture – Globalisation – Victim roles..........................................................105
4.1. On the relationship between culture and crime.....................................105
4.2. On the relationship between culture and victimology...........................106
4.3. On the relationship between culture and green criminology.................108
4.4. On the victims of globalisation/global risks..........................................109
4.4.1. New victims, new focuses of victimisation....................................109
4.4.2. On the victims of governmental crime..........................................111
4.4.3. On the victims of environmental crime..........................................112
4.4.4. Summary........................................................................................115
5. The expoitation of man and the environment................................................117
5.1. The discreet charm of globalised (global) capitalism ….......................117
5.1.1. Exploitation...................................................................................118
5.1.2. The exploitation of labour.............................................................118
5.1.3. The exploitation of the environment..............................................124
5.2. The metamorphosis of two phenomena (the exploitation of man and the environment)........................................128
6. On the regulating power of legal and public norms......................................135
6.1. On the legal regulation of the expoitation of labour.............................135
6.1.1. UN documents...............................................................................135
6.1.2. European Union documents..........................................................138
6.2. On the regulation of the exploitation of the environment in international law...........................................142
6.2.1. UN documents...............................................................................144
6.2.2. EU documents...............................................................................145
6.3. On regulations of penal and civil law....................................................146
6.3.1. On the regulation of the exploitation in penal law........................147
6.3.2. On the regulation of damaging the environment in penal law......148
6.3.3. On the regulation of damaging the environment in civil law........151
6.4. A few lessons from the official regulations...........................................151
Summary............................................................................................................157
Part III.: From the present to the future............................................................159
7. Confessions of European criminologist.........................................................163
7.1. What does it mean to be European?......................................................163
7.2. On the European way of thinking and European values.......................164
8. What next: Continuing exploitation of man the environment or protection of our values?...........................173
8.1. On the alternatives of risk management................................................173
8.2. Cyclical economy – the thinking of globally sustainable development.........................................175
8.3. Non-growth – the thinking of global sustainability...............................181
8.4. The Preston-model – the thinking of local sustainability......................187
8.5. Sustainable growth – the project of the New Climate Economy..........189
8.6. A comparison of the four models – with conclusions...........................191
Summary............................................................................................................192
9. Exploitation of man and the environment. Challenges and alternative responses............................................193
9.1. Facts that need to be addressed.............................................................193
9.1.1. On biodiversity..............................................................................194
9.1.2. On climate change.........................................................................200
9.1.3. On carbon emission.......................................................................203
9.1.4. On the ecological footprint...........................................................205
9.2. Tasks......................................................................................................210
9.3. Answers.................................................................................................213
9.3.1. On the possibilities and limitations of civil regulations: on fair and ethical trade..........................214
9.3.2. Government initiative with civil cooperation................................219
9.3.3. On civil initiatives.........................................................................222
9.4. Final conclusions...................................................................................224
10. Future prospects – prognosis with unsecure foundations............................227
10.1. Historical background. Risk-culture and disaster management..........227
10.1.1. On individual and regional preferences......................................227
10.1.2. On global risk management........................................................229
10.2. Theoretical premises............................................................................230
10.3. On our endangered fundamental values: questions and answers........233
10.4. The Covid-19 pandemic – old and new risks......................................238
10.5. Answers to challenges: opportunities and consequences....................242
10.5.1. Alternatives..................................................................................242
10.5.2. Visions.........................................................................................246
10.5.3. The consumers decide: to remain or to cease?...........................247
Bibliography..........................................................................................................249
Academic articles and popular science, e-media articles..................................271
Other Internet sources..........................................................................................283
Index......................................................................................................................289
Summary...............................................................................................................309
Contents.................................................................................................................313