Ecological modernization and risk society. Towards the analysis of science, environment and society

Abstract

In this article we try to advance in the understanding of the relation between society and the environment and in the role of science in the environmental crisis. Through the confrontation of two theoretical perspectives from sociology —the ecological modernization theory and the theory of risk society—, we develop a vision of the role of science and technology in the way advanced societies face environmental problems. The perspective of the ecological modernization and the theory of the risk society offer a faced vision on the process of social change derived from the crisis. The comparison of both perspectives tries to contribute to the theoretical development of the environmental sociology and to the understanding of the process of environmental reform in society.