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> Were people not happy before we took flights so often and ate meat for every meal? They were happy, but when they got the opportunity they caught it, and the
by pif 7y ago
> Were people not happy before we took flights so often and ate meat for every meal?
They were happy, but when they got the opportunity they caught it, and they became happier.
The problem with too many environmentalists is that they consider it feasible for a large number of people to voluntarily give up their modern comfort to go back to a lifestyle their grandparents escaped from as soon as they could.
- the_gastropod 7y agoCigarettes, like airplane flights, were once new luxury things our grandparents happily took up, “escaping” life without them. My point is: just because something is popular doesn’t mean it leads to health or happiness—especially in the long term.
- pif 7y agoThe two examples are not equivalent: cigarettes harm the smoker more than the others; CO2 pollution, instead, is a classic example of tragedy of the commons.
- xtian 7y agoI think it's short-sighted to view “tragedy of the commons” scenarios as some sort of rhetorical wall. The “tragedy of the commons” is not a fact of nature but rather a product of the prevailing beliefs of our society. We’re not going to be able to meaningfully address climate change without reevaluating the ideologies that got us here in the first place.