Ecological progress and the prospects for sustainable civilizational development: synergy among the state, environmental protection, the market, and the principle of social selforganization

Abstract

A comprehensive analysis of the relationship between centralized, market-based, and self-organizing management mechanisms in the context of contemporary environmental challenges has been conducted. The relevance of this study is due to the deepening global environmental crisis, which highlights the limitations of traditional models of public governance based on hierarchical coordination and the logic of economic growth. The study substantiates that the formal functioning of democratic institutions does not ensure an adequate level of citizen participation in making significant decisions of environmental management, which undermines the effectiveness of sustainable development policy. Based on an analysis of the principles of self-organization inherent in natural systems, this study demonstrates the potential of decentralized forms of social interaction to enhance the adaptability and resilience of socio-ecological systems.