> GPT would likely be correct on the democratic will of the people for the things you cited This is a dangerous line of thought, if you extend it to “why bothe

> GPT would likely be correct on the democratic will of the people for the things you cited This is a dangerous line of thought, if you extend it to “why bother actually asking people what they want, let’s get rid of voting and just use unfeeling software that can be pointed fingers at whenever things go wrong”. > a tiny group of elites who condescendingly believe they’re smarter I suppose I don’t disagree, a small group without a working democratic election process is how dictatorships work. > you will take the bus with your 3 kids and groceries in hand and you will like it Bit of a tangent from me, but it looks like you are mixing bits of city planner utopia with bits of, I guess, typical American suburban reality. In a walkable city planned for humans (not cars) the grocery store is just downstairs or around the corner, because denser living makes them profitable enough. When you can pop down for some eggs, stop by local bakery for fresh bread, and be back home in under 7 minutes, you don’t really want to take a major trip to Costco with all your kids to load up the fridge for the week. You could still drive there, of course, and I don’t think those “condescending elites”* frown too much on a fully occupied car (especially with kids), but unless you really enjoy road trips and parking lots you probably wouldn’t. > do-nothing social signaling policies for climate change (eg. Straws, bottle caps, grocery bags) Reducing use of plastic is not “do-nothing” for me. I’m not sure it has much to do with climate change but I don’t want microplastics to accumulate in my body or bodies of my kids. However, I can agree with you that these are only half-measures with good optics. * Very flattering by the way, I can barely afford a car** but if seeing benefits to walkable city planning makes me a bit elite I’ll take it! ** If my lack of wealth now makes you think I’m some kind of socialist, well I can only give you my word that I am far from.