ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the book and the central argument that we need to better understand the social nature of environmental problems in order to grasp what social transformation means and implies. Because of the current environmental situation, which is defined as a civilizational crisis, social transformation is presented as the most important and urgent issue of our time. This overall argument is linked to the key themes of the book: causes, distributions, understandings, barriers, and transformation. The chapter then introduces a theoretical model, the five facets of the social, which permeates the analysis of all the themes in the book. The five facets include inner life, social relations and interactions, socio-material entities and practices, social stratification, and institutions. The chapter argues that any theory of social transformation needs to pay attention to all of these interrelated facets. This will facilitate the necessary integrative and comprehensive understanding of societal inertia and the conditions for transformative change. The chapter concludes with an introduction to the key contents of the remaining five chapters that correspond to each of the overarching themes.
