In evaluating the environmental impacts of firm or industry greening or joint environmental NGObusiness
efforts, it is instructive to place these specific instances within the system of which they are
a greater part—currently global capitalism. Allan Schnaiberg’s (1980) breakthrough political economic
analysis of environmental problems and subsequent work on the TOP builds on the Monthly
Review school of Marxism and theorizes that the institutional arrangements under monopoly capitalism
result in the competition and concentration of capital that leads to increases in capital investment and
technological efficiency. These conditions result in the increasing rates of withdrawals of material
resources from the earth and additions of these material resources transformed into waste and deposited
into the environment. This cycle is referred to as the TOP. Subsequent to TOP’s initial publication,
Schnaiberg and Gould (1994) wrote a chapter that made explicit their understanding of economic
organizations. Business organizations are assumed to have singular decision-making criteria as
reflected in a rule-based rational systems approach. As these business organizations are situated within
capitalist institutions, these criteria are driven by the capital logic of profit maximization. Under TOP
theory, firms arrive at the conclusion that the best return on this accumulated capital is the investment
in more capital and technological efficiency. This predicts that firms all make similar decisions
regardless of the internal dynamics of the firm as natural systems perspectives would suggest.
Schnaiberg and Gould state that social, economic, and political forces outside the firm (such as the
state or social movements) may alter behavior but that all firms will resist and try to suppress these
forces. As Pulver (2007, p. 49) summarizes “from a treadmill perspective, firm-level activities
cannot change system-level dynamics.”
In evaluating the environmental impacts of firm or industry greening or joint environmental NGObusinessefforts, it is instructive to place these specific instances within the system of which they area greater part—currently global capitalism. Allan Schnaiberg’s (1980) breakthrough political economicanalysis of environmental problems and subsequent work on the TOP builds on the MonthlyReview school of Marxism and theorizes that the institutional arrangements under monopoly capitalismresult in the competition and concentration of capital that leads to increases in capital investment andtechnological efficiency. These conditions result in the increasing rates of withdrawals of materialresources from the earth and additions of these material resources transformed into waste and depositedinto the environment. This cycle is referred to as the TOP. Subsequent to TOP’s initial publication,Schnaiberg and Gould (1994) wrote a chapter that made explicit their understanding of economicorganizations. Business organizations are assumed to have singular decision-making criteria asreflected in a rule-based rational systems approach. As these business organizations are situated withincapitalist institutions, these criteria are driven by the capital logic of profit maximization. Under TOPtheory, firms arrive at the conclusion that the best return on this accumulated capital is the investmentin more capital and technological efficiency. This predicts that firms all make similar decisionsregardless of the internal dynamics of the firm as natural systems perspectives would suggest.Schnaiberg and Gould state that social, economic, and political forces outside the firm (such as thestate or social movements) may alter behavior but that all firms will resist and try to suppress theseforces. As Pulver (2007, p. 49) summarizes “from a treadmill perspective, firm-level activitiescannot change system-level dynamics.”
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