Marja Ylönen
University of
Jyväskylä
Dept. of Social
Sciences and Phil.
MORAL REGULATION OF
WATER POLLUTION
The Case of Finland
from the 1960’s till 2000
Moral regulation of
water pollution is part of the study concerning social control of pollution
crimes in Finland from 1960s till 2000. The field of moral regulation of water
pollution was taking shape in the 1960s. At that time public concern over water
pollution was increased and demands for more efficient water protection were
expressed. Despite the positive atmosphere and some institutional arrangements
which contributed to protection, there were other social factors that slowed
down the favourable trend.
Moral regulation of
water pollution is approached from the perspective of sociology of knowledge.
How have the social interests influenced on the selection of objects of
knowledge, selection of risks, means and suitable experts in the field of moral
regulation of water pollution? What kinds of transformations have occurred in
moral regulation in various decades? What kinds of effects has moral regulation
had on prerequisites of perceiving pollution as condemnable and deviant?
Moral regulation can
be seen as a field consisting of acceptable topics of communication and
competent actors. Through network analysis I examine powerful actors in the
field and through discourse analysis I approach the objects of knowledge and
risks that form the boundaries of the field. The data consists of committee
reports and special Water issue journal articles from four decades.