David and Goliath in the Risk Society: Making Sense of the Conflict between Shell and Greenpeace in the North Sea

Abstract

It is argued here that the victory of Greenpeace over Shell in the North Sea, in June 1995, exemplifies the empowerment of small organizations in the semiotic environment in which organizations in late modernity increasingly tend to operate. More specifically, it is argued that in late modern societies risk production tends to be at least as important as wealth production. In the risk society, symbolic power is of great importance, at times more important than economic power; social reflexivity, unfolding within a public discourse which favours post-materialist values, is an integral part of societal functioning; and the role of mediated communication occupies a central place. In a semiotic environment, business organizations do not only compete in the marketplace but, increasingly, in a discursive space in which winning the argument is just as important. These concepts are used to throw light on the conflict that broke out between Shell and Greenpeace in the North Sea, over the offshore dumping of a defunct oil platform.