44
6.2 The Rationalist Fallacy
In the case of water theft, buy-backs, and fish kills, it will also be important to apply
and enforce the law, including the law of procurement, civil and criminal fraud,
restitution and water management but approaches that are too narrowly legalistic are unlikely to bring about the seismic changes that are necessary to protect
water resources. It may, therefore, be helpful to go beyond law to consider why
populist, right wing groups eschew environmentalism and to explore the feelings of
disenfranchisement, disaffection and alienation that have been linked to the rejection of better environmental governance. Connecting with and understanding such
feelings may prove vital because people do not necessarily act rationally. As Brown
argues in the criminal justice context, developing rational policy models may not
necessarily yield desired outcomes (Brown et al. 2016, p. 227). Rational policies
and explanations are often simply not persuasive as Hochschild demonstrates with
her real-life example of a person who lost his home to a sink-hole caused by a
lightly regulated drilling company but nevertheless, still supported government
deregulation and cuts to government spending on environmental protection
(Hochschild 2012, p. 5).
6.3 Getting Into the Skin of Others
Consequently, sociological immersion research that ‘gets into the skin’ of people
who reject policies and laws that would benefit them—the ‘great paradox’—may be
helpful (Hochschild 2012, pp. 8–20). It may assist appreciation of ‘their “deep
story”, a narrative as felt’ (Hochshild 2012, p. ix). From such an appreciation better,
more inclusive, non-judgemental policies, law and governance may emerge. Hence,
engaging with communities at a grass roots level, in order to understand how and
why they can, on one hand, claim to care about their children’s future but simultaneously continue to elect politicians whose parties consistently fail to address issues
such as: climate change; the high number of water licences; a SDL that is set too low
to achieve sustainable outcomes; and more generally, the importance of ecological
integrity, may ultimately assist water governance.
Immersion research may reveal what is behind the conduct and views of people
such as water thieves. Is it, for example, anger, social anxiety or resentment about
their position in society that drives their conduct? Such research may also help
answer the question of why people (many of whom are not well off themselves)
continue to support governments that pay companies such as Webster and EAA
unjustifiably large sums of money for buy-backs that have not improved river system health? On Hochschild’s findings, the answer may lie not in rational explanations but rather in the sense of alienation and disaffection that such people feel more
generally. She found that many people who rejected greater regulation and environmental policies that would help them, were people who felt set adrift by government
J. Gray
6.2 The Rationalist Fallacy
In the case of water theft, buy-backs, and fish kills, it will also be important to apply
and enforce the law, including the law of procurement, civil and criminal fraud,
restitution and water management but approaches that are too narrowly legalistic are unlikely to bring about the seismic changes that are necessary to protect
water resources. It may, therefore, be helpful to go beyond law to consider why
populist, right wing groups eschew environmentalism and to explore the feelings of
disenfranchisement, disaffection and alienation that have been linked to the rejection of better environmental governance. Connecting with and understanding such
feelings may prove vital because people do not necessarily act rationally. As Brown
argues in the criminal justice context, developing rational policy models may not
necessarily yield desired outcomes (Brown et al. 2016, p. 227). Rational policies
and explanations are often simply not persuasive as Hochschild demonstrates with
her real-life example of a person who lost his home to a sink-hole caused by a
lightly regulated drilling company but nevertheless, still supported government
deregulation and cuts to government spending on environmental protection
(Hochschild 2012, p. 5).
6.3 Getting Into the Skin of Others
Consequently, sociological immersion research that ‘gets into the skin’ of people
who reject policies and laws that would benefit them—the ‘great paradox’—may be
helpful (Hochschild 2012, pp. 8–20). It may assist appreciation of ‘their “deep
story”, a narrative as felt’ (Hochshild 2012, p. ix). From such an appreciation better,
more inclusive, non-judgemental policies, law and governance may emerge. Hence,
engaging with communities at a grass roots level, in order to understand how and
why they can, on one hand, claim to care about their children’s future but simultaneously continue to elect politicians whose parties consistently fail to address issues
such as: climate change; the high number of water licences; a SDL that is set too low
to achieve sustainable outcomes; and more generally, the importance of ecological
integrity, may ultimately assist water governance.
Immersion research may reveal what is behind the conduct and views of people
such as water thieves. Is it, for example, anger, social anxiety or resentment about
their position in society that drives their conduct? Such research may also help
answer the question of why people (many of whom are not well off themselves)
continue to support governments that pay companies such as Webster and EAA
unjustifiably large sums of money for buy-backs that have not improved river system health? On Hochschild’s findings, the answer may lie not in rational explanations but rather in the sense of alienation and disaffection that such people feel more
generally. She found that many people who rejected greater regulation and environmental policies that would help them, were people who felt set adrift by government
J. Gray