Il conflitto sociale nella crisi ecologica tra inerzia sociale e spinte al mutamento

This contribution examines how the contemporary ecological crisis challenges sociological categories of social conflict and social change. While climate disruption increasingly shapes everyday life through deepening inequalities and systemic violence, public and political responses remain weak, revealing what Beck termed “organized irresponsibility.” Drawing on classical and contemporary sociology, the paper argues that existing analytical tools—built on modern assumptions of progress, anthropocentrism, and unlimited human agency—prove insufficient for understanding the interplay between ecological crisis and social conflict. A neopragmatic perspective is proposed to integrate diverse methods and theoretical approaches, with particular attention to concepts such as *Leib*, socio-ecological life chances, and the reconfiguration of the society–nature nexus. The contribution first reassesses the limits of classical sociological theories in conceptualizing social change under ecological constraints. It then discusses Brulle and Norgaard’s framework of social inertia and cultural trauma to explain the widespread resistance to transformative action despite growing climate awareness. Finally, the paper highlights how eco-social conflicts operate across multiple spatial, temporal, and cognitive scales, complicating processes of negotiation and institutionalization. Empirical examples—especially climate citizens’ assemblies at national and local levels—illustrate emerging forms of democratic innovation capable of channeling conflicts into structural change. The article concludes by identifying avenues for future research on how eco-social conflicts can foster transformative imaginaries and redefine life chances in sustainable and equitable directions. ---