What is energy for? : social practice and energy demand

Shove, Elizabeth and Walker, Gordon (2014) What is energy for? : social practice and energy demand. Theory, Culture and Society, 31 (5). pp. 41-58. ISSN 0263-2764

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Abstract

Energy has an ambivalent status in social theory, variously figuring as a driver or an outcome of social and institutional change, or as something that is woven into the fabric of society itself. In this article the authors consider the underlying models on which different approaches depend. One common strategy is to view energy as a resource base, the management and organization of which depends on various intersecting systems: political, economic and technological. This is not the only route to take. The authors develop an alternative approach, viewing energy supply and energy demand as part of the ongoing reproduction of bundles and complexes of social practice. In articulating and comparing these two positions they show how social-theoretical commitments influence the ways in which problems like those of reducing carbon emissions are framed and addressed. Whereas theories of practice highlight basic questions about what energy is for, these issues are routinely and perhaps necessarily obscured by those who see energy as an abstract resource that structures or that is structured by a range of interlocking social systems.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Theory, Culture and Society
Additional Information:
The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Theory, Culture and Society, 31 (5), 2014, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2014 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Theory, Culture and Society page: http://tcs.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3312
Subjects:
?? demandenergysocial practicesocial theorytransitionsconsumptionsociology and political sciencegeneral social sciencessocial sciences(all) ??
ID Code:
73263
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
10 Mar 2015 12:36
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
21 Sep 2024 00:35