4 SUMMARY OF THE ESSAYS
5.2 What kinds of rational energy myths circulate in the Finnish
In this section, the dominant rational energy myths across the three (micro, meso and macro) levels in the agora framework are revealed. The findings from the three essays have been corroborated to answer the question: What kinds of dominant rational energy myths and national myths can be found in the energy agora?
A transition can be consider involving constant negotiations, “a translation process that acts as metaphor from linguistics and connotes an interaction that involves negotiation between parties and reshaping what is finally transmitted e.g. institutionalized” (Zilber 2006: 283). Viewing institutionalization as a process where actors are carriers of institutions (Zilber 2002, Maguire and Hardy 2009), implies that people draw from their personal cultural toolkit (Zilber 2006). In other words, peoples individual set of beliefs are affected by the collective systems of mental models (Haase et al, 2009). Rational myths borrow structures (Thompson 2004) or plots (Stern 1995) from wider and more generic myths, these often having national connotations and cultural meanings (Zilber 2006). They explain reality from a larger perspective than, as in this case, energy transition.
Dominant myths in different nations and cultural contexts share similar mythological origins (Campbell 1973, Campbell 1990). One of the strongest common plot of universal mythologies is explaining the origin of humanity and
‘(wo) man’s place in the world’ (as discussed in section 2.3). Figure 7 shows the way this research approaches the process of rational energy myths translating from national myths, which again translate from timeless mythologies (Campbell 1990), or at least borrow fragments of their original structures (Stern 1995, Pinkola Estés 1996).
Figure 7. The translation process – from mythologies to myths
To explore the deep structures of mental models, we use the concept of national myths and rational energy myths. These are discursive constructs, imbued with glimpses of the inner landscape of an individual. Thus, they reflect collective,
cultural-cognitive beliefs and mental models, which construct the intangible field of the agora from where the legitimate institutions in the regime of a socio-technical energy marketing system draw their logic and practices (see figure 8).
Figure 8. The discursive “mythical” Energy Agora
Figure 8 shows how timeless, universal mythologies exist on the landscape level of a socio-technical energy marketing system (a city and its energy system) and its energy agora (the square in the middle of that city). Following the description of the landscape level in the MLP (Geels 2004), it is where slow moving trends such as social paradigms are situated and thus also the place where universal mythologies might be placed. National myths cover all levels of actors (micro, meso and macro) participating in the energy marketing system. Thus, the national myths also cover the entire regime and niche levels of the MLP, as they are embedded
into the legitimized institutional structures and practices (regulative, normative and cognitive) of the regime. The institutional structures obviously affects the dynamics in the energy agora (think about the written and unwritten social rules that dictate how people ought to behave in the agora on a market day). National myths are shared and interpreted similarly by actors socialized into a socio-cultural system and can be expected to form part of their personal socio-cultural toolkit (Zilber 2006). Finally, the rational energy myths, produced by individual actors (considered as carriers of institutions), might draw from distinct national mythical plots in the process of translation to other actors (Zilber 2002). Thus, market shaping rational myths (might) draw their plots from national myths and, even further from universal mythologies.
To find the energy myths circulating in the Finnish energy agora, the rational myths from the third essay were used as a starting point. The idea was to explore mythical structures in the findings from essay I (micro) and essay II (meso) level and see how they related to the findings from essay III (macro). As I was looking for mythical structures, the mythic plots used by Stern (1995) proved helpful.
Sterns (1995) work on consumer myths as plots is organized by four categories according to Frye’s taxonomy (1957). Stern recognizes that there are four mythic plots: comedy, romance, tragedy and irony (satiric). In Sterns work, the plot types embody structural links between consumption myths and those found in other cultural myths. This logic is similar to the idea of rational myths, national myths and mythologies used in this thesis.
The analysis part turned out to be a very interpretive process, as the three sets of findings differed in how they had been approached and presented. I found that the subject positions in essay II and the rhetorical strategies in essay I represented distinct socio-culturally accepted or contested strategies, used by actors to discursively navigate their reality of energy transition. Thus, these “coping strategies” expressed distinct manners of dealing with the world and others.
Surprisingly, the findings from the three essays organized according to the four mythic plots, showing similar mythical structures throughout the three levels of the energy agora (see table 8).
Table 8. Energy myths in the Finnish agora Rational
Myths
Essay III Rock solid Big brother Smart &
flexible Rural resilience Global village Macro
It seems that the five rational energy myths from essay III find similar plot structures throughout the three levels of the energy agora (findings from essay I and II): The Rock solid fits well into the plot structures of the romance myth that lives in the nostalgia of preferring the past. The Big brother teams up with the ironic myth and here, change is accepted but there is no trust in appearances.
Smart & flexible shows most positivity regarding the future of energy transition and combating climate change, and fits the comic myth as it believes in the transformation and evolution of society and that technology will solve the big challenges. The Rural resilience follows the plot of the satiric myth and makes fun of what it considers as the nonsense of high tech or green transition visions.
Finally, the Global village warns that mankind is heading towards tragedy if they don’t change their actions and call for collective effort to avoid disaster (or survive).