受益圈·受苦圈论的理论构成及当下意涵

The Composition of“Sphere of Benefit/Sphere of Suffering”Theory:A Critical Assessment of a Japanese Theory in Environmental Sociology

受益圈·受苦圈论是日本环境社会学的原创理论之一。受益圈·受苦圈概念产生于20世纪70年代末至80年代的日本新干线公害问题研究,此后逐步发展成为一个中层理论。这一理论着眼于环境问题中受益圈与受苦圈的形态分布,即包括相关群体和相关区域在内的受益圈与受苦圈是否重叠。当受益圈与受苦圈重叠时,环境问题带来的损害后果容易得到关注和接受,有利于促进问题的解决。但是当受益圈与受苦圈之间发生错位甚至分离时,环境问题及其损害后果所具有的复杂性,则会使问题难以呈现与解决。在受益圈与受苦圈不重叠分布的情况下,基层自治体无法为受害群体充分发声,使得受害群体的权益维护在深层结构上处于不利地位。受益圈·受苦圈论清晰地描绘了环境问题中存在的结构性不平等,有助于大型开发项目的公共性探讨及具体问题的解决。受益圈·受苦圈论对于环境正义重建与环境问题中的公共性理论构建等具有重要意义。

“Sphere of benefit/sphere of suffering”theory is one of the original theories of Japanese environmental Sociology.The concept originated during the late 1970s and 1980s from the research on public hazards surrounding the Shinkansen bullet train in Japan,and has since grown into a middle-range theory.The theory focuses on the spatial distribution of the“sphere of benefit/sphere of suffering”in environmental problems,that is,whether the“benefit”and“suffering”spheres overlap.When the two spheres overlap,the damage from environmental problems is plain to see for everyone in the spheres,leading to the solution of the problem.When the two spheres are separated,however,it is difficult for the people in those spheres to reach a shared understanding of the damage and even the problem itself.Moreover,the shape of the suffering sphere matters.The municipality in which the victims live cannot rightly represent the interests of the victims when the suffering sphere spreads only alongside the train tracks.Those victims are in the minority in every municipality alongside the tracks,putting them at a disadvantage.Sphere of benefit/sphere of suffering theory enables us to clearly elucidate the structural deficiency of democracy in dealing with environmental issues.It makes it possible for us to question the publicness of largescale development projects.Sphere of benefit/sphere of suffering theory is of great significance for constructing public sociology.