Environmental ethics cannot be separated from environmental injustice. The two are connected since ethical practices influence every aspect of human life. On their part, human beings require a guideline as social beings on what should constitute a standard behavior to restrain from going to excesses. Social class affects how we perceive our environment regarding fellow human beings and nature itself and responding in case of environmental disasters by helping the affected ( Manstead, 2018). Therefore, ethical principles among the various social classes differ and influence how we treat important subjects in life. For example, a rich person having all that he needs at any point in life will not see the need of conserving resources at the same degree as a poor person with very little to live on would. The rich may become wasteful thereby having negative impacts on the environment (Boylan, 2013). According to Kant’s deontological theory, if this behavior became universal law and all people manage their resources poorly, nature will be exploited and misused. Subsequently, disasters will increase finding those of low social class unprepared to meet them (Wood, 2007).
Various studies have indicated that developed countries are wasteful as compared to developing countries (Boylan, 2013). The developed ones play a significant role in driving the world’s economy by influencing the supply and demand chain (Levi-Faur, 2011). The role of developed countries in determining the economic patterns, industrial activities, and the struggle between social classes culminate to the environmental crisis and injustices currently witnessed. In case wealth is distributed equally, which is not realistic (but assuming that wealth was redistributed and social classes were reshaped), the responses and environmental injustices would be reduced and eliminated progressively.
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References
Boylan, M. (2013). Environmental Ethics. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons
Levi-Faur, D. (Ed.). (2011). Handbook on the Politics of Regulation . Edward Elgar Publishing.
Manstead, A. S. (2018). The psychology of social class: How socioeconomic status impacts thought, feelings, and behavior. British Journal of Social Psychology, 57 (2), 267-291.
Wood, A. W. (2007). Kantian ethics . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
