I don’t think downplaying our efforts is really helpful to our goals.
I also don’t believe in the individual vs collective action blame dichotomy, because we should build pilitical infrastructure that fosters climate action and prevents emissions -> If we continue to put or keep lawmakers into power that empower the extreme rich, we disempower ourselves.
The subsequent economic system doesn’t really matter, but the physical output matters.
I don’t think downplaying our efforts is really helpful to our goals
The math don’t lie. When you’re working on the scale of kilowatts and kilojoules, while your local hedge fund is operating on the scale of gigawatts and giga joules in the opposite direction, you’ve been outgunned by orders of magnitude.
Hedge funds consist of the labour of individuals in collectives (ie companies). Their products are only valuable because people keep their function and infrastructure intact (physically, legally).
Scales cannot be compared that way. I don’t know the right term, but a better comparison might be between your efforts and the impact of a single ‘buyer’ of those hedge funds (or in the case of the extreme rich, the labour of a single worker that creates/created their power). Scales require similar spatial or material flow boundaries to be comparable.
Indeed, I just don’t bother. That energy can and should be used in more meaningful, impactful ways like protests and policy changes. Which isn’t much but it’s the best we got.
You absolutely should be giant assholes to those people doing the most damage.
But this does not preclude you from doing something to decrease your own, likely outsized, damage yourself. It certainly does not excuse you from doing nothing.
Yeah, it’s why I continue torturing puppies daily for my own pleasure. Sure, it’s bad to do this, but have you seen how much pain a billionaire causes? The total suffering in the world will not meaningfully decrease if I stop torturing puppies, so why bother doing it?
This comment is exactly what I meant above. We need both policy changes and individual action, simply because most industrialised societies work that way - as mixed economies.
Me, doing my tiny part to help
Billionaire, undoing the efforts of millions of people
Energy prices surging. Agriculture collapsing. Heat waves killing thousands of people. Wars erupting over access to potable water.
Everyone doing their part.
I don’t think downplaying our efforts is really helpful to our goals.
I also don’t believe in the individual vs collective action blame dichotomy, because we should build pilitical infrastructure that fosters climate action and prevents emissions -> If we continue to put or keep lawmakers into power that empower the extreme rich, we disempower ourselves.
The subsequent economic system doesn’t really matter, but the physical output matters.
The math don’t lie. When you’re working on the scale of kilowatts and kilojoules, while your local hedge fund is operating on the scale of gigawatts and giga joules in the opposite direction, you’ve been outgunned by orders of magnitude.
Hedge funds consist of the labour of individuals in collectives (ie companies). Their products are only valuable because people keep their function and infrastructure intact (physically, legally).
Scales cannot be compared that way. I don’t know the right term, but a better comparison might be between your efforts and the impact of a single ‘buyer’ of those hedge funds (or in the case of the extreme rich, the labour of a single worker that creates/created their power). Scales require similar spatial or material flow boundaries to be comparable.
Indeed, I just don’t bother. That energy can and should be used in more meaningful, impactful ways like protests and policy changes. Which isn’t much but it’s the best we got.
Quite a bit of modern progressive reform was won by being giant assholes towards people in power until they capitulated.
I don’t think climate change will be resolved any differently.
You absolutely should be giant assholes to those people doing the most damage.
But this does not preclude you from doing something to decrease your own, likely outsized, damage yourself. It certainly does not excuse you from doing nothing.
Yeah, it’s why I continue torturing puppies daily for my own pleasure. Sure, it’s bad to do this, but have you seen how much pain a billionaire causes? The total suffering in the world will not meaningfully decrease if I stop torturing puppies, so why bother doing it?
spoiler
/s obviously
That’s a strange logical fallacy but you do you.
This comment is exactly what I meant above. We need both policy changes and individual action, simply because most industrialised societies work that way - as mixed economies.
Wtf
huh?