Idea Change of Environmental Law based on Modernization

Jiong Guo

Lanzhou University of Arts and Science, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730000, China

Keywords: Ecological humanism, international art & crafts movement, modernization, idea of environmental law.

Abstract: Under the current social development model, many materials can be produced quickly. However, the

destruction of ecological environment is so serious that cannot be remedied by subsequent measures. These

behaviors and ideas should be limited from the perspective of environmental law. During the modernization

of human beings, there was an important conceptual support to the development of environmental law.

Inspired by the international art & crafts movement and ecological humanism, the idea of environmental

law is always developing. Meanwhile, its transformation is also developing with the advancement of

modernization.

1 INTRODUCTION

Modernization is the continuous transforming

process of nature by human beings. At any ages,

humans transform natural environment and

resources via various ways for survival materials.

However, with the advancement of modernization,

there have been some pressures to natural

environment and resources. Modern scientific

research shows that excessive development will

result in a non-renewable destruction to natural

environment and resources. In brief, earth's

environmental bearing capacity is limited (Qu

Zhenhui, 2008). Although this limit has no clear

boundaries, accumulation of over-development is

bound to cause serious results, as the change of

quality is caused by change of quantity.

2 DEVELOPMENT OF THE IDEA

OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW IN

COUNTRIES'

MODERNIZATION

The idea of environmental law differs in many

countries. For example, it was called

"Environmental Legislation" in U.S., "Protection

Law for Interference and Infringement" in former

West Germany and "Nuisance Law" in Japan. In

terms of the appellations of national environmental

laws, it can be found the understandings for

environmental law are different in countries. But its

main purpose contains two similar basic levels (Luo

Li, 2008). One is the protection for natural

environment and resources, and the other is the

prevention and remediation for pollution. Therefore,

countries have drafted corresponding environmental

laws and regulations for the above two levels.

Environment protection, especially with related

laws, has not drawn people's attention until the 19th

century. With the scientific and technological

achievements of industrial revolution, the world has

gain unprecedented productivity. As a result, people

begin to vigorously reform and develop the nature

via advanced technology. But such practice will

undoubtedly bring huge pressure to natural

environment and resources (Mei Xianzhong, 2007).

Therefore, after a round of dense development,

many industrial countries gradually found problems

in natural environment. Then, related laws are

established by countries to restrict the development

of natural environment and resources.

Development of environmental laws is closely

linked to modernization process. Developed

industrial countries have built relatively complete

environmental law system as part of state law.

Current idea of environmental law has developed out

the following levels. Firstly, constitution can be used

to require certain protections for natural

environment and resources, as well as pollution

control. Some big powers even consider

environmental protection as the foundation of

society or the highest national code of conduct.

Secondly, comprehensive laws are adopted to

232

Guo J.

Idea Change of Environmental Law based on Modernization.

DOI: 10.5220/0006447902320235

In ISME 2016 - Information Science and Management Engineering IV (ISME 2016), pages 232-235

ISBN: 978-989-758-208-0

restrain environmental protection such as the

Environmental Protection Laws of PRC. Such laws

are called environmental policies. It is an

environmental protection law with strong

comprehensiveness. These laws play a guiding role

in making strategies for natural environmental

protection with critical significance. Thirdly,

specific environmental laws and regulations are used

to provide protections for different natural

environment and resources according to the

requirements of different levels. Besides, these laws

possess strong pertinence, thus providing more

professional protections.

3 IDEA DEVELOPMENT OF

INTERNATIONAL ART &

CRAFTS MOVEMENT:

REFLECTION ON

MODERNIZATION

3.1 Basis of reflection on

modernization of international art

& crafts movement

Social activists and thinkers began to rethink about

the environment that heavily impacted and damaged

by the development of modernization. The

international art & crafts movement can be regarded

as the rudiment of world development. During the

First Industrial Revolution, ancient Britain has

witnessed large-scale development. Although the

development has made Britain the first industrialized

country, too much resource was consumed. Shortly

after industry brought prosperity to Britain, many

problems have broken out. Related statistical reports

show many cities in Britain, such as Manchester,

Liverpool, Birmingham and Safford, have rapidly

developed into metropolis since the 1850s. Due to

the rapid development, British ignored the

consideration of urban planning. As a result, there

were not enough houses for the increasing urban

population. Furthermore, the living environment and

conditions of working class were very bad, thus

accelerating the differentiation of social classes to

some extent. Additionally, as the first country

launching industrial revolution, Britain has suffered

much form the pollution of soot and water. That is

because there was no specific idea for environmental

protection in Britain. They just paid much attention

to the development of natural resources, namely the

pursuit of wealth. So there was no effective measure

in Britain to prevent the natural environment from

destroying. Another example was the German

empire, a country united from the unification war of

Prussian. Shortly after the unification, Germany

launched a large-scale modern industrial

development. Undoubtedly, this development has

led to the seriously-destroyed natural environment

and resources as well as the cross-flow of

wastewater in German industrial areas.

3.2 Legal consideration of international

art & crafts movement on

environmental protection

Faced with destroyed environment, several scholars

in Britain proposed the claim of protecting

environment, and launched the international art &

crafts movement. At the end of 18th century, British

scholar Gilbert White's work "The Natural History

of Selborne" was officially published to promote

people's reflection on development of industrial

civilization. At the same time, the criticism on

destructiveness of industrial civilization was also

initiated in Britain. As the overdraft and waste of

ecological resources, there were multiple natural

disasters in Britain. Such disasters have scared the

people for the future, or even affecting their

survivals on materials base. Under this ideological

influence, part of the thinkers in U.K. and Germany

launched the art & crafts movement. This movement

can be regarded as the reflection on industrial

civilization.

International art & crafts movement was

developed after the British Chartism. It mainly

aimed at the restoration of human's original morality

and faith by reviving European handicraft mode in

medieval. It seeks the feelings and living state of

people under naturalism. Therefore, it is an anti-

industrialism movement to seek culture and

materials. Morris and Ruskin, representatives of that

movement, hold the view to promote the social

status of European handicraftsmen. They also

attempted to produce personalized crafts rather than

sedulously pursuing the development of science and

technology.

At the same time, handicraftsmen began to

criticize the industrial civilization, requiring British

government to re-examine ecological issues. Ruskin

ever gave a lecture in Brantford University of

Technology, saying that the country should not deny

the arts education during rapid development of

industrial civilization. What's more, the damage of

industrial success to ecological environment is

unacceptable, and what people needed are not only

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Idea Change of Environmental Law based on Modernization

233

mine and coal pits. Therefore, Ruskin proposed

humanism criticism for the development of

industrial civilization, which is of positive

significance to the following ecological movement.

Besides, another handicraftsman representative

William Morris argued that human beings should

take social development as the ultimate goal. In his

opinion, the individual value and dignity of human

should be respected during social development, so

that human can pursue individual freedom and

happiness. Compared with the environmental

destruction of industrial civilization, this humanism

idea is the predatory of human's freedom right and

enslavement of humanity's rationality. Therefore,

Morris gave a legal thought to the relationship

between human and goods.

4 FOUNDATION OF

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

THEORY: DEVELOPMENT OF

ECOLOGICAL HUMANISM

BASED ON HUMANISM

Humanism was the secular trend developed in

Western Renaissance. It has had a profound impact

on the development of arts, including the

examination of the position of humans. Therefore,

humanism has influenced the development of

ecological humanism a lot, which can be shown in

the combination of ecological environment

protection and human's development. Then, human

could rethink sustainable development from the

perspective of ecological humanism. Therefore,

ecological humanism is of important significance

and function. Science is the only basis of social

development. This idea was even the social

mainstream ideology in the development of

industrial civilization, especially in the Industrial

Revolution. However, the idea focusing on science

and technology is actually the voluntarism. It will

ultimately lead to the resources destruction and

energy depletion. Now the whole world is

witnessing serious ecological crisis. Therefore, the

humanism idea of harmonious coexistence between

humans and nature is necessary to make sustainable

development. As the ideological foundation of

environmental legal and environmental protection,

ecological humanism itself is a unique kind of

human-centered humanism. Different from the view

of taking science and technology for all, ecological

humanism also stressed that human beings should

depend on nature. In fact, Human and natural

environment are actually one body.

In the view of ecological humanism, the

relationship of human and nature should be

transformed into relationship between subject and

object under industrial civilization. Then, natural

environment will be more stable and healthy. And

only with this idea can we find a better development

road for human. The Club of Rome in European was

the pioneer of this development road.

5 CHANGE OF ECOLOGICAL

ENVIRONMENT THEORY IN

MODERNIZATION

With the development of ecological humanism, the

foundation of legal theory on natural environment

protection was formed, especially through the

publication of the tradition of Renaissance. This can

be seen in Rodale's writings. Rodale argued that

humanism is actually the self-liberation of human to

make people attempt to settle current problems.

However, human should shoulder some

responsibilities to obtain the self-liberation.

Therefore, the difference between human and other

animals lies in human's patience and endurance, as

well as their understanding of seeking the long-term

interests. The self-centered idea has been verified as

undesirable through long-term practice. On this

base, two questions were proposed. What are human

beings and the relationship between rationality and

belief? What's the role of human in exploring the

natural environment and resources as well as in the

balance of species? All these problems should be

restricted by environmental laws.

Undoubtedly, environmental deterioration is in

fact a crisis for human society. The question is how

to solve the crisis that affecting continuous

development. In fact, it is relatively difficult for

human to develop without destruction under the

current level of social productivity. Therefore, it is

possible to have an impact on the development

model of human society by way of environmental

law, particularly its deep change. With the limitation

of laws, more people will realize that human beings

and nature are actually an interdependent whole.

Besides, series of international environment charters

should be issued, such as the "Declaration of the

United Nations on the Human Environment". That

was formed in the first conference on human

environment. Through these international laws, more

people will be aroused to participate in

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environmental protection. Certain countries, like

France, have written ecological environment

protection to their fundamental constitutions, even

adding some long-term considerations into

environmental laws. Such approaches can make the

idea of ecological environment protection better

spread in the country. In the current social

environment, it is a concept of environmental law

with practical significance.

6 CONCLUSIONS

As a developing country, China should seriously

take the precious exploiting opportunity. At the

same time, there are some contradictions between

modernization and environmental protection during

development in China. Scientific development view

has proposed the human-centered idea and

continuous development that concludes the idea of

modernization. To continuously implement the

modernization, China has formed some related

environmental protection laws and regulations. With

the help of natural environment laws, the

environmental protection idea in China has gain the

support of nation. Meantime, with the development

of modernization, the idea of environmental laws is

also developing.

REFERENCES

Qu Zhenhui, Ethic Interpretations of Conceptions in

Modern Environmental Laws, Journal of Shijiazhuang

Railway Institute (Social Sciences) .2008 (04): 48-51.

Luo Li, Transformation of Environmental Law Ideology

of Japan and Development of "Second Generation" in

Environmental Law in China, Journal of China

University of Geosciences(Social Sciences Edition).

2008 (03): 8-12.

Mei Xianzhong, Exploration on Environmental Law

Theory, Science- Technology and Law. 2007 (02): 48-

51.

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Idea Change of Environmental Law based on Modernization

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