Important to recognize that the thing you love isn’t what’s killing the planet. The excess unmanaged waste is killing the planet. And we can manage the waste as a matter of regional policy. But only when we value the long term health of the planet over the short term privatization of profits.
This thing you love is killing people
Important to recognize that the thing you love isn’t what’s killing people. The unchecked advance of a massive military industrial complex is what’s killing people. And we can recall these troops, end the bombings and assassinations, and pursue a global policy of peace and prosperity. But only when we value all human life equitably, rather than seeing some niche group or ideology as unimpeachable while another group as intrinsically evil.
The thing you love is killing you
No it fucking isn’t. The thing is essential to your existence. That’s why you crave it. What’s killing you is the commercial need to reduce the cost of its production, in order to yield a product that has an extended shelf life and an easily marketable branding. You can enjoy a good meal without poisoning yourself. What you lack is the time to prepare your own treats, the facilities to perform the preparation, and the skills necessary to do it properly. And all of these are easy to do, so long as we’re afford the time and space and education to do it.
Blaming the end consumer is a major part of the pattern of consumerism. Don’t blame yourself for living in society. Don’t blame yourself for being born somewhere or being subject to certain historical conditions. Do what you can when you can. Value your time and labor. And make some fucking friends, damnit, don’t live alone in a god damned cave. Don’t become reliant on commodities. And for the love of god don’t let yourself become a commodity.
I’m sorry, but consumers are killing the planet. Hiding behind this idea that a society’s functions are dictated by just the ultra wealthy and corporations is just wrong. We fund it all. The Trumps, Epsteins, big oil, big pharma, Taylor Swift… They’re rich and powerful because we the people make them so.
They’re rich and powerful because we the people make them so.
Fuck off with this bullshit “we”. I didn’t make any of these people rich or powerful. In fact their violent control of capital is exactly what’s destroying humanity and the planet.
Hard disagree. The amount of money and energy that has gone into manipulation and corporate lobbying has ensured that most people are brainwashed without ever knowing it. It’s NOT the people’s fault, it’s the ultra weathy
I don’t disagree with that sentiment, but I would assert the people still have the ability to stop the untra-wealthy, and the idea we’re helpless bystanders only serves the ultra-wealthy
I remember reading a book as a kid that was set in the 1800’s, and there was a kid who got an apple for his birthday and was so happy because it was the most delicious thing he’d ever eaten. I remember thinking at the time that I was lucky to have candy and other modern treats.
Now I think all those flashy products are part of the problem, and I instead try to view fruit as being a special treat I’m fortunate to be able to enjoy, like the boy from the book. There are still plenty of unethical things surrounding fruit of course, but at least I’m consuming less manufactured corporate crap.
We can’t combat capitalism itself just by making changes to our habits, since the vast majority of people will still keep on consuming without a care, but we can at least distance ourselves from it by choosing less manufactured things. That way it should be easier to wean ourselves off of all the various products we’re accustomed to having that will go away if we ever do manage to combat capitalism.
The battery in the device you’re hard disagreeing with me on was created by slave and child labor. You knew that and bought it anyway. I assume you still eat meat despite knowing the environmental impact. Are you brainwashed too then or does how you spend your money somehow not affect the world?
Battery was produced in South Korea. Can you substantiate your claim South Korea is employing slave and child labor? Ensure you have a source substantiating both
I find child labor unlikely, but plausible, but slave labor in South Korean battery factories? I doubt it
What slight improvement to society is being talked about here? I know you wanted to participate, but try adding something to the conversation instead of a misused meme.
you are dismissing talk of holding actual problems accountable, to focus on inconsequential individual accountability, specifically using the “but you have are using an iphone, i am very smart” argument to not actually have to argue a point. you have been consistently dishonest in your messaging and it shows.
because our buying habits are shaped by necessity and availability. to argue that the individual needs to change would require agreement to the degree of millions of people all at once, who have the privilege of choice make a substantial change, and even then the systems in place would defend itself from this change. in a discussion about needing to hold corporations and systems accountable, you argue for the responsibility of the individual, a concept that uses the most effort for the smallest gain, if any.
the concept of the free market is and has always been bull shit. the free market ideology requires the consumer to have: 1. maximal choice, 2. maximal and complete knowlege of every facet of a product (a. it’s ecological cost, b. it’s social cost, c. it’s manufacture, d. it’s transport, e. its storage, f. it’s operational harm ect. ) and every facet of every other option to compare. as well as truth in marketing which is antithetical to marketing itself.
in a discussion about the need to hold the system accountable, attempting to narrow it to the individual is a distraction to progress
So what then? You are here, clearly you are participating as well. There is no ethical consumption here. I doubt the rocks you’re throwing are thrown from somewhere safe when they inevitably get thrown back.
I live a very minimal life, often to my own determent. I do the best I can to lessen my impact and contribution to other’s suffering.
I get more rocks thrown at me for speaking my mind on these types of topics because people absolutely hate the idea that they have more control in this awful system than they want to admit. It’s worse now because more and more people are calling for change, but refuse to sacrifice their comforts to enact that change. They’ll blame the system for making rent too high and fearing homelessness, but at the same time twiddle their thumbs while rent goes up and more people are forced into the homelessness they fear.
You want the people fight for the better. That’s I think noble. But at the same time you argue against that the enemy is the government, and you put the blame on ordinary people instead. So you want people to fight themselves. I want people to fight the government. Law is the solution for many of these issues. E.g.: It’s not big pollution vs small pollution, I’d like NO pollution.
The point is that it’s your choice where to make sacrifices for the causes you believe in. Everybody already knows that fossil fuels cause pollution, this is not some big secret. People don’t just get to hide behind “brainwashing” as a defense.
It’s not really a choice though. We have to work harder, longer, faster for a wage that doesn’t increase anywhere as fast as the efficiency of the workers. We have no time to do things the old way. I literally sacrificed a week of vacation to set up my homelab because I want to reduce my dependency on techbro bullshit. In many countries everything is done via smartphones. It’s near impossible to live without one. It wouldn’t be so bad if techbros wouldn’t come up with addiction driven software, but here we are.
And yes, many people are brainwashed into hating vegans. They are being controlled by the media they consume.
If our schools would teach the children his fucking bad all this tech is, we might stand a chance. But again, schools are controlled by rich assholes in power.
You just said that you sacrificed a week of vacation to reduce dependence on big tech. This is exactly what I’m talking about. Some people choose to spend effort on tech independence. Some people focus on veganism. Some people make sacrifices for the environment. Etc. These are all choices.
Not really. I’d rather not have had to go through that and instead I’d rather have relaxed during my vacation. In the past this would have been possible after work hours. Now I’m so fucking wasted after work, I prefer to mindlessly rewatch Deep Space 9. I just don’t have the capacity to regain control of my life. Big tech is forcing their shit upon us all and it’s very difficult to escape all that. The regular person will likely not have the know-how to do this, so they’re stuck with what is being spoon fed to us all.
Yeah I think everyone gets that, but what then? We can acknowledge that the path of least resistance is destructive, while also acknowledging that some folks will be on that path through no fault of their own, and the rest of us are heavily incentivized to follow that path. It’s far more efficient to try and fix the system routing the paths, than to individually change everyone’s behavior en masse.
To clarify, I’m all for fossil fuel regulation. The fossil fuel industry is different from most in that it has huge externalities, and those can only be controlled via regulation (as explained by Tragedy of the Commons). However, what I’m saying is that personal responsibility is still important. In fact, in a democracy it’s basically all that matters. Whether you vote for public policy or you vote with your wallet, both have the power to affect change.
Changing the system and rerouting the paths and forcing everybody to follow, sounds nice in theory. And in this case I do agree that some regulation is necessary. However changing the system can end up enormously good and also enormously bad. It has both incredible power and risk. The problem is that nobody agrees on how to change it. Every few years the group in power changes, and reverses the policies created by the opposing group. I am not confident that this is as efficient as you say it is.
What I don’t like about resorting to regulation, is that it’s all or nothing. The policy passes or it doesn’t. The free market is much more flexible. If 20% of people vote with their wallet, that wouldn’t have been enough to get a policy to pass, but it sure is enough to get an industry to re-think their strategy and try to re-capture that 20%.
this idea of “brainwashing” is a convenient way to dodge personal responsibility. Next time I think about returning the shopping cart I’ll remember I’m “brainwashed” and leave it in the middle of the parking lot. I guess the US people who voted for Trump, are blameless because propaganda exists. I guess the people who use AI tools to write code or make art, are blameless because advertising exists.
We’re on lemmy right now because we chose to be on it. It doesn’t take an ultra wealthy person to do that.
Consumers have no control over the availability of the things they purchase.
Come on. That’s denialism. Let’s start by not eating beef nor lamb anymore. You’ve got a lot of choices : poultry, pork, fish, veganism, etc. Beef meat is producing plenty of carbon emission.
That’s capitalism. The consumer has no democratic input into the economic process.
Let’s start by not eating beef nor lamb anymore.
Way ahead of you.
Of course, most meat produced in the US has historically been exported. Far more effective than individualist efforts at Veganism has been the Trump trade war with China. Far more effective than individual consumerism has been drought induced climate change.
Through the private ownership over the means of production which they leverage against the proletariat through the commodification of community goods and resources in order to coerce their labor of which they then profit off in a cruel and oppressive cycle of forced dependency which is maintained through the state.
By organizing to take back the means of production and revolutionize the system. Not uselessly deny yourself simple pleasures to feel morally superior to others by buying into the capitalist propaganda which shifts blame onto the consumer and away from the owners of production.
I’m failing? How’s that leftism 101 game plan working out again? Organizing much? Seizing the means of production much? It sure seems like intellectualizing and trying to eschew responsibility is doing an amazing job of ensuring capitalism thrives! At least what I do is putting my money where my mouth is.
Not under the profit motive, no. Industries monopolize. Territory is enclosed. Goods and services are enahittified. None of that is a consequence of consumer demand.
Where do the ultra wealthy get there wealth again,
The violent seizure of primitive and industrial capital from the working class.
Hard disagree. But feel free to tell me how your attempt of stopping to fund all of that goes, surely you know how to do that without joining the Amish and being on the run from your countries’ tax agency.
You can’t even realistically avoid Nestlé and all its smaller brands (way too many). Stop blame the fucking people for the mess of the different power structures we were all born in, it’s nobodies fault but those in charge of those systems. Which is not us, systemically.
Nobody is “funding” this crap, everyone’s forced into it. Welcome to fucking capitalism.
I don’t have to tell you anything. You can believe whatever you want, but throwing your hands up and just consuming because “system bad can’t fix” is exactly why the system is bad.
Food, shelter, health, social interactions, mobility, now “intelligence” (well, a bad simulation of it). EVERYTHING has been capitalised. To believe anyone could change shit by just “consuming differently” is very much stuck in the same ideology that created this disaster.
Is anyone here aware of the concept that you can both take some personal responsibility and attempt to change the system?
Changing the system sufficiently WOULD result in many of the changes people could make on their own already. You don’t have to be the perfect sustainable human being in a society that doesn’t care. You also don’t have to be the person driving 3km to work in a car instead of using the perfectly fine public transport or bicycle infrastructure. There’s a middle ground.
Nobody said you shouldn’t act responsible within your abilities, just that the system won’t be repaired by individuals consuming differently in any way (Big corpos would just adapt to extract your money in a new way). Consumers can’t do jack shit about the greater economical structures at play except voting, and, well… apparently that also doesn’t do enough.
Blaming consumers and everyones habits is quite literally propaganda of oil companies.
They made the world to fill us with fear and then sell us a remedy for the fear. They give us pointless work to fill up our time, and then sell our time back to us in the form of convenience. They made the world filled with anger, and then sold us outlets for our anger.
They had the stuff, so they made the rules, so they made the rules to favor them getting more stuff, so they have the stuff, so they make the rules…
The Ouroboros eats itself starting from the tail, but it’s the head that does the eating. These actions always start with someone who has enough wanting more. If we had the ability to shape our own destiny, we’d grow far beyond these petty things (think of how much generational trauma starts with “we can’t afford to live” as the ignition point). That requires the people with the boots to get off our necks first.
Or for people to collectively decide to throw the boots off, but we’ve been waiting all of written history for that. I’m not sure humanity is capable of it, as a whole.
We are capable of it, but the incentives are all fucked for it. It requires people to put in a fuck ton of effort… and then not suck up more then they need in doing so. Then, while they’re not vacuuming up excess resources, they also have to fight all of the people who want them to fail in order to maintain the status quo. It’s gonna be hard, but it isn’t impossible. Once a big enough group gets past that line, it’ll get easier for the rest of us to cross it as well (assuming no unnecessary lines get drawn in the doing so)
Important to recognize that the thing you love isn’t what’s killing the planet. The excess unmanaged waste is killing the planet. And we can manage the waste as a matter of regional policy. But only when we value the long term health of the planet over the short term privatization of profits.
Important to recognize that the thing you love isn’t what’s killing people. The unchecked advance of a massive military industrial complex is what’s killing people. And we can recall these troops, end the bombings and assassinations, and pursue a global policy of peace and prosperity. But only when we value all human life equitably, rather than seeing some niche group or ideology as unimpeachable while another group as intrinsically evil.
No it fucking isn’t. The thing is essential to your existence. That’s why you crave it. What’s killing you is the commercial need to reduce the cost of its production, in order to yield a product that has an extended shelf life and an easily marketable branding. You can enjoy a good meal without poisoning yourself. What you lack is the time to prepare your own treats, the facilities to perform the preparation, and the skills necessary to do it properly. And all of these are easy to do, so long as we’re afford the time and space and education to do it.
Blaming the end consumer is a major part of the pattern of consumerism. Don’t blame yourself for living in society. Don’t blame yourself for being born somewhere or being subject to certain historical conditions. Do what you can when you can. Value your time and labor. And make some fucking friends, damnit, don’t live alone in a god damned cave. Don’t become reliant on commodities. And for the love of god don’t let yourself become a commodity.
I’m sorry, but consumers are killing the planet. Hiding behind this idea that a society’s functions are dictated by just the ultra wealthy and corporations is just wrong. We fund it all. The Trumps, Epsteins, big oil, big pharma, Taylor Swift… They’re rich and powerful because we the people make them so.
Fuck off with this bullshit “we”. I didn’t make any of these people rich or powerful. In fact their violent control of capital is exactly what’s destroying humanity and the planet.
Never purchased a single thing, eh? Impressive.
Disingenuous.
One person buying something did not make billionaires.
Right, collectively most of us buying something is what made them billionaires
It’s like being a car in a traffic jam. You didn’t single-handedly create the traffic jam, but you are still part of the problem
I’m not smart enough for there to be so many people dumber than me…
Hard disagree. The amount of money and energy that has gone into manipulation and corporate lobbying has ensured that most people are brainwashed without ever knowing it. It’s NOT the people’s fault, it’s the ultra weathy
I don’t disagree with that sentiment, but I would assert the people still have the ability to stop the untra-wealthy, and the idea we’re helpless bystanders only serves the ultra-wealthy
I remember reading a book as a kid that was set in the 1800’s, and there was a kid who got an apple for his birthday and was so happy because it was the most delicious thing he’d ever eaten. I remember thinking at the time that I was lucky to have candy and other modern treats.
Now I think all those flashy products are part of the problem, and I instead try to view fruit as being a special treat I’m fortunate to be able to enjoy, like the boy from the book. There are still plenty of unethical things surrounding fruit of course, but at least I’m consuming less manufactured corporate crap.
We can’t combat capitalism itself just by making changes to our habits, since the vast majority of people will still keep on consuming without a care, but we can at least distance ourselves from it by choosing less manufactured things. That way it should be easier to wean ourselves off of all the various products we’re accustomed to having that will go away if we ever do manage to combat capitalism.
The battery in the device you’re hard disagreeing with me on was created by slave and child labor. You knew that and bought it anyway. I assume you still eat meat despite knowing the environmental impact. Are you brainwashed too then or does how you spend your money somehow not affect the world?
This is literally the ‘we live in a society, curious’ meme.
Battery was produced in South Korea. Can you substantiate your claim South Korea is employing slave and child labor? Ensure you have a source substantiating both
I find child labor unlikely, but plausible, but slave labor in South Korean battery factories? I doubt it
https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/036/647/Screen_Shot_2021-03-01_at_2.28.39_PM.jpg
👍
What slight improvement to society is being talked about here? I know you wanted to participate, but try adding something to the conversation instead of a misused meme.
you are dismissing talk of holding actual problems accountable, to focus on inconsequential individual accountability, specifically using the “but you have are using an iphone, i am very smart” argument to not actually have to argue a point. you have been consistently dishonest in your messaging and it shows.
Thanks for dismanteling his argumentation and putting it into context so well :)
“Thanks for supporting the opinion I already have because considering the alternative feels bad :)” - jafra
Inconsequential? How is our buying habits inconsequential? You can’t hold a problem accountable…
because our buying habits are shaped by necessity and availability. to argue that the individual needs to change would require agreement to the degree of millions of people all at once, who have the privilege of choice make a substantial change, and even then the systems in place would defend itself from this change. in a discussion about needing to hold corporations and systems accountable, you argue for the responsibility of the individual, a concept that uses the most effort for the smallest gain, if any.
the concept of the free market is and has always been bull shit. the free market ideology requires the consumer to have: 1. maximal choice, 2. maximal and complete knowlege of every facet of a product (a. it’s ecological cost, b. it’s social cost, c. it’s manufacture, d. it’s transport, e. its storage, f. it’s operational harm ect. ) and every facet of every other option to compare. as well as truth in marketing which is antithetical to marketing itself.
in a discussion about the need to hold the system accountable, attempting to narrow it to the individual is a distraction to progress
purchases don’t cause production.
So what then? You are here, clearly you are participating as well. There is no ethical consumption here. I doubt the rocks you’re throwing are thrown from somewhere safe when they inevitably get thrown back.
I live a very minimal life, often to my own determent. I do the best I can to lessen my impact and contribution to other’s suffering.
I get more rocks thrown at me for speaking my mind on these types of topics because people absolutely hate the idea that they have more control in this awful system than they want to admit. It’s worse now because more and more people are calling for change, but refuse to sacrifice their comforts to enact that change. They’ll blame the system for making rent too high and fearing homelessness, but at the same time twiddle their thumbs while rent goes up and more people are forced into the homelessness they fear.
You want the people fight for the better. That’s I think noble. But at the same time you argue against that the enemy is the government, and you put the blame on ordinary people instead. So you want people to fight themselves. I want people to fight the government. Law is the solution for many of these issues. E.g.: It’s not big pollution vs small pollution, I’d like NO pollution.
I haven’t said people are the problem; all I’ve said is we contribute to it more than people like to admit.
The point is that it’s your choice where to make sacrifices for the causes you believe in. Everybody already knows that fossil fuels cause pollution, this is not some big secret. People don’t just get to hide behind “brainwashing” as a defense.
It’s not really a choice though. We have to work harder, longer, faster for a wage that doesn’t increase anywhere as fast as the efficiency of the workers. We have no time to do things the old way. I literally sacrificed a week of vacation to set up my homelab because I want to reduce my dependency on techbro bullshit. In many countries everything is done via smartphones. It’s near impossible to live without one. It wouldn’t be so bad if techbros wouldn’t come up with addiction driven software, but here we are.
And yes, many people are brainwashed into hating vegans. They are being controlled by the media they consume.
If our schools would teach the children his fucking bad all this tech is, we might stand a chance. But again, schools are controlled by rich assholes in power.
You just said that you sacrificed a week of vacation to reduce dependence on big tech. This is exactly what I’m talking about. Some people choose to spend effort on tech independence. Some people focus on veganism. Some people make sacrifices for the environment. Etc. These are all choices.
Not really. I’d rather not have had to go through that and instead I’d rather have relaxed during my vacation. In the past this would have been possible after work hours. Now I’m so fucking wasted after work, I prefer to mindlessly rewatch Deep Space 9. I just don’t have the capacity to regain control of my life. Big tech is forcing their shit upon us all and it’s very difficult to escape all that. The regular person will likely not have the know-how to do this, so they’re stuck with what is being spoon fed to us all.
Yeah I think everyone gets that, but what then? We can acknowledge that the path of least resistance is destructive, while also acknowledging that some folks will be on that path through no fault of their own, and the rest of us are heavily incentivized to follow that path. It’s far more efficient to try and fix the system routing the paths, than to individually change everyone’s behavior en masse.
To clarify, I’m all for fossil fuel regulation. The fossil fuel industry is different from most in that it has huge externalities, and those can only be controlled via regulation (as explained by Tragedy of the Commons). However, what I’m saying is that personal responsibility is still important. In fact, in a democracy it’s basically all that matters. Whether you vote for public policy or you vote with your wallet, both have the power to affect change.
Changing the system and rerouting the paths and forcing everybody to follow, sounds nice in theory. And in this case I do agree that some regulation is necessary. However changing the system can end up enormously good and also enormously bad. It has both incredible power and risk. The problem is that nobody agrees on how to change it. Every few years the group in power changes, and reverses the policies created by the opposing group. I am not confident that this is as efficient as you say it is.
What I don’t like about resorting to regulation, is that it’s all or nothing. The policy passes or it doesn’t. The free market is much more flexible. If 20% of people vote with their wallet, that wouldn’t have been enough to get a policy to pass, but it sure is enough to get an industry to re-think their strategy and try to re-capture that 20%.
this idea of “brainwashing” is a convenient way to dodge personal responsibility. Next time I think about returning the shopping cart I’ll remember I’m “brainwashed” and leave it in the middle of the parking lot. I guess the US people who voted for Trump, are blameless because propaganda exists. I guess the people who use AI tools to write code or make art, are blameless because advertising exists.
We’re on lemmy right now because we chose to be on it. It doesn’t take an ultra wealthy person to do that.
I’m not wasting any more energy on you. Have fun being cynical
You’re the one being cynical, telling people they don’t have personal responsibility
Consumers have no control over the availability of the things they purchase.
It’s empirically proven.
Come on. That’s denialism. Let’s start by not eating beef nor lamb anymore. You’ve got a lot of choices : poultry, pork, fish, veganism, etc. Beef meat is producing plenty of carbon emission.
https://assets-global.website-files.com/61642bed5d6a8ae19539536c/6236d060438100394aa7a7e1_nhl1.jpg
id love to see the underlying data that produced that graph
That’s capitalism. The consumer has no democratic input into the economic process.
Way ahead of you.
Of course, most meat produced in the US has historically been exported. Far more effective than individualist efforts at Veganism has been the Trump trade war with China. Far more effective than individual consumerism has been drought induced climate change.
Cattle inventory has been on the decline since 1979 fully independent of cattle demand.
The cost per head has been rising. Beef share of the market is being priced out whether you eat it or not.
No control? Your purchases have no impact, eh?
Where do the ultra wealthy get there wealth again,
They get their wealth by stealing it from the workers.
Through the private ownership over the means of production which they leverage against the proletariat through the commodification of community goods and resources in order to coerce their labor of which they then profit off in a cruel and oppressive cycle of forced dependency which is maintained through the state.
This is like Leftism 101.
And how do you stop it… You’re almost there…
By organizing to take back the means of production and revolutionize the system. Not uselessly deny yourself simple pleasures to feel morally superior to others by buying into the capitalist propaganda which shifts blame onto the consumer and away from the owners of production.
It’s literally Leftism 101 and you’re failing.
I’m failing? How’s that leftism 101 game plan working out again? Organizing much? Seizing the means of production much? It sure seems like intellectualizing and trying to eschew responsibility is doing an amazing job of ensuring capitalism thrives! At least what I do is putting my money where my mouth is.
How is blaming yourself and strangers on the internet going? Have you succeeded in no longer causing global destruction? I hope so.
Not under the profit motive, no. Industries monopolize. Territory is enclosed. Goods and services are enahittified. None of that is a consequence of consumer demand.
The violent seizure of primitive and industrial capital from the working class.
Hard disagree. But feel free to tell me how your attempt of stopping to fund all of that goes, surely you know how to do that without joining the Amish and being on the run from your countries’ tax agency.
You can’t even realistically avoid Nestlé and all its smaller brands (way too many). Stop blame the fucking people for the mess of the different power structures we were all born in, it’s nobodies fault but those in charge of those systems. Which is not us, systemically. Nobody is “funding” this crap, everyone’s forced into it. Welcome to fucking capitalism.
I don’t have to tell you anything. You can believe whatever you want, but throwing your hands up and just consuming because “system bad can’t fix” is exactly why the system is bad.
The system has been rigged so people can’t afford to not consume the products.
Exactly.
Food, shelter, health, social interactions, mobility, now “intelligence” (well, a bad simulation of it). EVERYTHING has been capitalised. To believe anyone could change shit by just “consuming differently” is very much stuck in the same ideology that created this disaster.
Is anyone here aware of the concept that you can both take some personal responsibility and attempt to change the system?
Changing the system sufficiently WOULD result in many of the changes people could make on their own already. You don’t have to be the perfect sustainable human being in a society that doesn’t care. You also don’t have to be the person driving 3km to work in a car instead of using the perfectly fine public transport or bicycle infrastructure. There’s a middle ground.
Nobody said you shouldn’t act responsible within your abilities, just that the system won’t be repaired by individuals consuming differently in any way (Big corpos would just adapt to extract your money in a new way). Consumers can’t do jack shit about the greater economical structures at play except voting, and, well… apparently that also doesn’t do enough.
Blaming consumers and everyones habits is quite literally propaganda of oil companies.
They made the world to fill us with fear and then sell us a remedy for the fear. They give us pointless work to fill up our time, and then sell our time back to us in the form of convenience. They made the world filled with anger, and then sold us outlets for our anger.
They had the stuff, so they made the rules, so they made the rules to favor them getting more stuff, so they have the stuff, so they make the rules…
The Ouroboros eats itself starting from the tail, but it’s the head that does the eating. These actions always start with someone who has enough wanting more. If we had the ability to shape our own destiny, we’d grow far beyond these petty things (think of how much generational trauma starts with “we can’t afford to live” as the ignition point). That requires the people with the boots to get off our necks first.
Or for people to collectively decide to throw the boots off, but we’ve been waiting all of written history for that. I’m not sure humanity is capable of it, as a whole.
We are capable of it, but the incentives are all fucked for it. It requires people to put in a fuck ton of effort… and then not suck up more then they need in doing so. Then, while they’re not vacuuming up excess resources, they also have to fight all of the people who want them to fail in order to maintain the status quo. It’s gonna be hard, but it isn’t impossible. Once a big enough group gets past that line, it’ll get easier for the rest of us to cross it as well (assuming no unnecessary lines get drawn in the doing so)
Go right and try not to consume. You literally cannot. In many places, if you try, you will literally go to jail for not participating in the system.