A critical divide within environmental sociology concerns the relationship between capitalism and the environment. Risk society and ecological modernization scholars advance a concept of reflexive political economy, arguing that capitalism will transition from a dirty, industrial stage to a green, eco-friendly stage. In contrast, critical political economy scholars suggest that the core imperatives of capitalist accumulation are fundamentally unsustainable. We conduct a content analysis of 136 journal articles to assess how these frameworks have been implemented in empirical studies. Our analysis provides important commentary about the mechanisms, agents, magnitude, scale, temporality, and outcomes these frameworks analyze and employ, and the development of a hybrid perspective that borrows from both these perspectives. In addition, we reflect on how and why reflexive political economy has not answered key challenges leveled in the early 21st century, mainly the disconnect between greening values and the ongoing coupling of economic growth and environmental destruction. We also reflect on the significance of critical political economy, as the only framework we study that provides analysis of the roots of ecological crisis. Finally, we comment on the emergent hybrid perspective as a framework that attempts to reconcile new socioecological configurations in an era of increasing environmental instability.

环境社会学中的一个关键分歧涉及资本主义与环境之间的关系。风险社会和生态现代化学者提出了一种反思性政治经济学的概念，认为资本主义将从肮脏的工业阶段过渡到绿色、生态友好的阶段。相比之下，批判性政治经济学学者认为资本主义积累的核心要求从根本上是不可持续的。我们对 136 篇期刊文章进行了内容分析，以评估这些框架是如何在实证研究中实施的。我们的分析提供了关于这些框架分析和采用的机制、代理、规模、规模、时间和结果的重要评论，以及从这两种观点借鉴的混合观点的发展。此外，我们反思反思性政治经济学如何以及为何未能应对 21 世纪初面临的主要挑战，主要是绿化价值观与经济增长与环境破坏的持续耦合之间的脱节。我们还反思了批判政治经济学的重要性，这是我们研究的唯一框架，可以分析生态危机的根源。最后，我们将新兴的混合视角作为一个框架，在环境不稳定日益加剧的时代试图调和新的社会生态配置。我们还反思了批判政治经济学的重要性，这是我们研究的唯一框架，可以分析生态危机的根源。最后，我们将新兴的混合视角作为一个框架，在环境不稳定日益加剧的时代试图调和新的社会生态配置。我们还反思了批判政治经济学的重要性，这是我们研究的唯一框架，可以分析生态危机的根源。最后，我们将新兴的混合视角作为一个框架，在环境不稳定日益加剧的时代试图调和新的社会生态配置。