Criticisms
The Cultural Theory of risk has been subject to a variety of criticisms. Complexities and ambiguities inherent in Douglas’s group-grid scheme, and the resulting diversity of conceptualizations among cultural theorists, lead some to believe the theory is fatally opaque. Others object to the theory’s embrace of functionalism, a controversial mode of analysis that sees the needs of collective entities (in the case of Cultural Theory, the ways of life defined by group-grid), rather than the decisions of individuals about how to pursue their own ends, as the principal causal force in social relations. Commentators have also critiqued studies that purport to furnish empirical evidence for Cultural Theory, particularly survey studies, which some argue reflect unreliable measures of individual attitudes and in any case explain only a modest amount of the variance in individual perceptions of risk. Finally, some resist Cultural Theory on political grounds owing to Douglas and Wildavsky’s harsh denunciation of environmentalists in Risk and Culture.
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