Wow I am tired of the capitalist apologetica on what is allegedly a lefty site. “Trust me bro, we can solve everything if we just buy the right products! The invisible hand of the market will make everything alright! Just shut up and spend more money! Companies will totally just do the right thing! Trust me bro, just buy stuff!” Lol, this libertarian-ass high school economics-grade take needs to die.
Let me make it real simple because you seem to be incapable of nuance; we need better consumer behaviour AND systemic change. They are not mutually exclusive.
Take cars. If you have to buy a car now, yes, you should absolutely buy electric. Even marginally less emissions is a good thing. But if you want to talk about lazy consumers, let’s start there. Or rather, stop there. Because the lazy consumer will buy the product and think they’re doing their part while actually doing nothing to solve the systemic issues attendant to car-dependent culture. Even if every car on the road transformed into renewables-backed electric overnight, you’d still have the issues of outdoor green spaces being decimated to make room for highways and parking lots, low-density urban and suburban sprawl destroying native habitats, microplastics from tyres, and the lack of public transport for people who can’t afford to drive. That’s not even an exhaustive list. That’s the real guilt offset, right there. Just buy the EV and feel good about yourself for spending money the right way.
But yeah, do go ahead and buy that EV if you absolutely have to have a new car. Less emissions is objectively good, just don’t kid yourself. Maybe drive it to your local council and demand more green space, community gardens, high density housing, better bike lanes and more PT.
Make hay, this year’s harvest festival will be bountiful with the largest strawman we’ve ever seen!
Don’t buy an electric car. Bike to work. Take the train.
Don’t eat animals products, they’re destroying the planet.
Use a Fair phone, buy second hand, install solar.
Us lefties are weak, dependant on creature comforts. Cheap plastic clothing, $3 beef burgers, voting for cheap petrol at the pump.
Your initial conceit of not affording consumers blame is a big driver of that weakness. Consumers wasting food IS a problem. Consumers buying food from big food wasters is a problem. But if you aren’t living clean green, how can you hold some lady running a business to any account?
Inb4: “it’s all too hard, everyone is too busy to be that ethical, capitalism has locked me into being a bad person”. Be better, be ethical.
Wow I am tired of the capitalist apologetica on what is allegedly a lefty site. “Trust me bro, we can solve everything if we just buy the right products! The invisible hand of the market will make everything alright! Just shut up and spend more money! Companies will totally just do the right thing! Trust me bro, just buy stuff!” Lol, this libertarian-ass high school economics-grade take needs to die.
Let me make it real simple because you seem to be incapable of nuance; we need better consumer behaviour AND systemic change. They are not mutually exclusive.
Take cars. If you have to buy a car now, yes, you should absolutely buy electric. Even marginally less emissions is a good thing. But if you want to talk about lazy consumers, let’s start there. Or rather, stop there. Because the lazy consumer will buy the product and think they’re doing their part while actually doing nothing to solve the systemic issues attendant to car-dependent culture. Even if every car on the road transformed into renewables-backed electric overnight, you’d still have the issues of outdoor green spaces being decimated to make room for highways and parking lots, low-density urban and suburban sprawl destroying native habitats, microplastics from tyres, and the lack of public transport for people who can’t afford to drive. That’s not even an exhaustive list. That’s the real guilt offset, right there. Just buy the EV and feel good about yourself for spending money the right way.
But yeah, do go ahead and buy that EV if you absolutely have to have a new car. Less emissions is objectively good, just don’t kid yourself. Maybe drive it to your local council and demand more green space, community gardens, high density housing, better bike lanes and more PT.
Make hay, this year’s harvest festival will be bountiful with the largest strawman we’ve ever seen!
Don’t buy an electric car. Bike to work. Take the train. Don’t eat animals products, they’re destroying the planet. Use a Fair phone, buy second hand, install solar.
Us lefties are weak, dependant on creature comforts. Cheap plastic clothing, $3 beef burgers, voting for cheap petrol at the pump.
Your initial conceit of not affording consumers blame is a big driver of that weakness. Consumers wasting food IS a problem. Consumers buying food from big food wasters is a problem. But if you aren’t living clean green, how can you hold some lady running a business to any account?
Inb4: “it’s all too hard, everyone is too busy to be that ethical, capitalism has locked me into being a bad person”. Be better, be ethical.