Environmental Protection in the United States: Political Partisanship and the Liberal-Conservative Divergence on the Environment

• In Event: 20861 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 11: Political Polarization and Radicalization

Abstract

The political partisanship theory argues that liberals and conservatives diverge on environmental issues due to important differences related to: 1) support for business interest over other social goals; 2) level of comfort with fundamental changes to core social institutions; and 3) use of laws and regulations in governance. This study tests the third proposition. Conservatives often see laws and regulations, especially in relation to environmental reform, as inevitably leading to government expansion, which they disfavor. Analysis of several cross-sections of the U.S. General Social Survey confirms evidence from an expanding body of literature that liberals are more likely to express and show greater concern for environmental issues than conservatives. More importantly and in relation to the main aim of this paper, the study confirms the argument that differences in views about the use of laws and regulations help explain the liberal-conservative divergence on issues pertaining to the environment.

Author

• Lazarus Adua, University of Utah