Conserving Nature, Resisting Change: Political Conservatism and Evasion of Anti-Systemic Environmentalisms

Conventional wisdom and scientific research suggest that political conservatism is at odds with environmental concern. Across two survey studies and one experiment (total N = 2,005) we consider the possibility that this relationship varies by type of environmentalism and ethnic-racial category. In general, results indicate that political conservatism was negatively related to support for environmentalism. However, this relationship was significantly weaker for initiatives that prioritize conservation of supposedly pristine nature (Wilderness Preservation; WP) than for initiatives that advocate techno-fixes to ecological degradation (Ecomodernism; EM) or acknowledge and address the suffering of marginalized groups (Environmental Justice; EJ). Relationships of conservatism with support for environmentalism and differences in relationships by environmentalism type were also generally more pronounced among White compared to Black and Latine participants. Study 3 provides causal evidence that the relationship of conservatism with support varies by type of environmentalism and shows that this relationship varies by participant ethnic-racial category. Exploratory mediation analyses show that weaker relationships of conservatism with WP support (versus EM and EJ) stem in part from the perception of EM and especially EJ as a threats to U.S. society. We emphasize the importance of foregrounding sociocultural context in the study of political ideology, ‘polarization,’ and environmentalism.