ABSTRACT
The intensification of rationalization under greenness is one of several alternatives in a broader movement toward a green transformation. The work on sustainable development, neo-Malthusian research, and much of the environmental movement constitute attempts to deepen and enlarge the process of rationalization in order to render available on a long-term, sustainable basis the means to attain human goals. A new dimension of rationality — ecological rationality — emerges as part of the process. Ecological criteria are to monitor and control the instrumental relationship between humans and nature. Human action following market principles has on the contrary amounted to a coordinated attack on the natural environment based on continual economic growth. The accumulation of waste and the degradation of the natural environment have led to an ecological critique of bureaucratic organization, market capitalism and of formal, instrumental rationality itself. In order to minimize the problem of deviation from ecological goals, an ecological contract promoting harmony between humans and nature requires accountability.
