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You know when I hear a people speaking like this, I can't help but think about that scene from "The Life of Brian" where the rhetorical question of "What have t

You know when I hear a people speaking like this, I can't help but think about that scene from "The Life of Brian" where the rhetorical question of "What have the Romans ever done for us?!" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExWfh6sGyso https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExWfh6sGyso) It's terribly simplistic to look only at industrialization problems and completely neglect to acknowledge the upsides. Is there pollution and would I like there to be less, sure. Having said that would I want to give up the safety, food security, medical advances, conveniences, etc. that make life worthwhile so that I could live in pristine, untouched nature? Not a chance. I've life is substantially better because I live in an industrialized society and I'll take the pollution so long as it comes with all the good in my life.

scarmig 10y ago
The issue, in principle at least, is that those who accrue the benefits of pollution don't bear its costs. Yes, it might be nice having a Tesla outside your Atherton villa, but that is a cold comfort to a thousand Bengali kids who drown in a flood.
- sbuttgereit 10y ago
  The principle is bull and intellectually dishonest. It's not about Teslas, but about the nails that hold most homes together: factory made. The trucks that delivered the nails and the food the workers eat... Factory made. As you sit bemoaning the evil of industrialization, using tools only made possible by that same industrialization, are you not profiting from the very same pollution you condemn? As far as those not receiving those benefits... It's not zero sum. Am I fortunate to live in a country that even still recognizes some sense of the individual and is also a country of laws? Yes. But that good fortune is not the result of someone not receiving that good fortune. My living any lesser quality of life will do me no good and will not improve the life of those poor Bengali kids in any way.

scarmig 10y ago

The issue, in principle at least, is that those who accrue the benefits of pollution don't bear its costs. Yes, it might be nice having a Tesla outside your Atherton villa, but that is a cold comfort to a thousand Bengali kids who drown in a flood.

sbuttgereit 10y ago
The principle is bull and intellectually dishonest. It's not about Teslas, but about the nails that hold most homes together: factory made. The trucks that delivered the nails and the food the workers eat... Factory made. As you sit bemoaning the evil of industrialization, using tools only made possible by that same industrialization, are you not profiting from the very same pollution you condemn? As far as those not receiving those benefits... It's not zero sum. Am I fortunate to live in a country that even still recognizes some sense of the individual and is also a country of laws? Yes. But that good fortune is not the result of someone not receiving that good fortune. My living any lesser quality of life will do me no good and will not improve the life of those poor Bengali kids in any way.