> So while on the surface it seems good that we have more, it's not. It's worse. We are objectively not worse though. We have more life expectancy, quality of

> So while on the surface it seems good that we have more, it's not. It's worse. We are objectively not worse though. We have more life expectancy, quality of life, basically no more hunger, etc. This was given to us by capitalism. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's responsible for these extraordinary advances. Consumption in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. It just means people have the means of acquiring whatever they believe will make their lives better. To blame environmental problems on capitalism is misguided, I think. To give an example, before the invention of the car, streets were full of horse manure and associated diseases. So you could argue that fossil fuels have made our cities cleaner. Yes, industrialization has led to air pollution. Technology advancements are taking care of that, again thanks to the incentives of capitalism. If you allow me some snark, I must say that the Soviet Union wasn't exactly an environmentalist paradise, so is it really capitalism that is the problem?