The politics of guilt and materiality: punitive state-led sustainability initiatives as a form of disciplinary social control

Abstract

Contemporary discussions of sustainability often adopt macro-level perspectives discussing quantitative metrics, technological advancement, and impact on the climate. Little has been researched about the trade-offs involved for ordinary citizens in sustainability schemes and the subsequent social implications on individual behaviour and existing inequalities. This research coins the term “punitive sustainability” to discuss state-led sustainability schemes where participation is seemingly mandatory and requires consumers to bear costs in materiality and time. This paper focuses on the recycling of and reduction of plastics within Singapore, and employs a Foucauldian lens in analysing inherent power dynamics existing within the city state and their implications on sustainability and consumption. This article finds that convenience, utility, materiality, morality, and aesthetics are key players in the trade-offs embraced by citizens in sustainability schemes, and concludes with calling for raising awareness, increasing convenience, and appealing to affective sentiments as effective alternatives to punitive and material sustainability.