4 ms·
For climate change, is it a problem of intelligence though? We all know plastic is bad, but most of us don't care. Most of us know reducing meat consumption is
by akudha 5y ago
For climate change, is it a problem of intelligence though? We all know plastic is bad, but most of us don't care. Most of us know reducing meat consumption is a good thing (for environment and otherwise), but most of us won't entertain even reducing meat consumption, let alone going vegetarian. And so on. I don't think it is ignorance is as big a problem as "fuck you, I don't care" attitude
I'd wager what is needed more is kindness - to ourselves, to one another, to animals, to environment etc, more than intelligence.
- paulddraper 5y agoExactly. The actual conflict is individualism vs collectivism. Can humans act in collective interest? Maybe. Smaller homogenous communities have an easier time than large diverse communities. And the problems you mention involve the latter.
- prower 5y agoIt's also a matter of perceived consequences. To put it bluntly, most people simply don't have the energy, at the end of the day, to chase "feel good", distant, ethereal causes. Yeah meat consuption leads to pollution, but that's such a stretch of the imagination, and I'm hungry, so please let me see what I need to do to pay this month's rent and taxes instead. There's an oil spill in the ocean? Man, that sounds bad. But what can you do, it's in the ocean, someone will take care of it eventually. I know it's a defeatist way of thinking but you can't build a running society (meaning with, literally, people running all the time) and expect to conserve energy for non-primary, non-immediate, non-localized causes. To put it even more bluntly: I would be very happy to change my whole way of life if I didn't have to run after money. But I have to, and I'm exhausted, and that's the problem.