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Yes and no. Firstly, I don't have the numbers to hand, but I've seen economic work suggesting that the 'real' rich (ie. 'our' 1st world 10%) are responsible for
by crispinb 9y ago
Yes and no. Firstly, I don't have the numbers to hand, but I've seen economic work suggesting that the 'real' rich (ie. 'our' 1st world 10%) are responsible for grossly disproportionate resource use. Those vast houses, yachts, constant flying etc all take their toll. Secondly, although no doubt true on average, you addressed your 'if you are posting on HN' to an individual, and you're wrong in this case. I'm on less than a third of what you suggest. I live in a small forest shack, use a modest motorbike for travel, rarely eat meat, don't fly etc. Even then though I'm well off by world standards, and I'm a beneficiary of rich-world infrastructure, an expensive medical system, yada yada.
But does all that matter? Pointing out that the rich are (almost literally) eating the world doesn't give any of us the instant means to change the system we live within. We can only do what we can do, but there's nothing to do without awareness.