From movements to institutions

It is one of the underlying arguments of this book that the political quest for sustainable development is best thought of as an ongoing series of cultural transformations by which the visionary ideas and utopian practices of the environmental movement are working their way into the social lifeblood. From this perspective, the ever more cooperative, or “constructive,” roles that many environmental organizations and former activists have taken on can be said to represent a transition from movement to institution, as ideas and activities that were previously considered radical or alternative are now being translated into more acceptable forms (Eder 1996). As the environmental “movement” has come to be redefined, however, and, in the eyes of many, reduced primarily to the machinations of large, “non-governmental” organizations such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, something rather fundamental seems to have changed. In the process of winning influence and organizational strength the messages that are being projected and the activities that are being carried out have been transformed in subtle ways.