4 ms·

More like a crew of a spaceship dismantling their life-support system to create disposable junk.

swayvil 2y ago
Funny how improving self-awareness and self-control is always at the bottom of the list of solutions. It's always a new machine, product or pill. (But I think that public access to hallucinogens is a step in the right direction, actually)
- javajosh 2y ago
  One must deal with humans as they are, not as we'd wish them to be. The correct solution is that externalities associated with consumption should be priced in by fiat. The government has the (uneviable) task of protecting the environment because it is a perfect example of a common good. Of course, such authority must be given to the government by the people; it is already happening to a very small extent; as climate change becomes more real to people's everyday lives, I expect to see more movement in this direction. Of course, by then it will probably be too late, but we can hope that it will not be.
  - swayvil 2y ago
    The technologies of education and advertising have proven to be quite good at changing people.
    - carapace 2y ago
      Yeah, this. Perfect example, our crazy car-based transportation network was popularized by a deliberate domestic propaganda campaign, we went from vilifying "speed demons" to vilifying "jaywalkers" because "they" told us to: "The Real Reason Jaywalking Is A Crime" (Adam Ruins Everything) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxopfjXkArM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxopfjXkArM "Street Rivals: Jaywalking and the Invention of the Motor Age Street", Peter D. Norton https://www.jstor.org/stable/40061474 https://www.jstor.org/stable/40061474 If we can convince people that it's their own fault for getting hit by cars, we can do anything.
- cassepipe 2y ago
  I think you fall in the typical trap of thinking that social issues are easier to solve than technical ones. This is not the case. "Why take vaccines ? Can't we just be well-behaved, wear a mask, air spaces correctly or put air filters everywhere ?" The answer is no. https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/10/society-is-fixed-biology-is-mutable/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/10/society-is-fixed-biolo...

Funny how improving self-awareness and self-control is always at the bottom of the list of solutions. It's always a new machine, product or pill. (But I think that public access to hallucinogens is a step in the right direction, actually)

javajosh 2y ago
One must deal with humans as they are, not as we'd wish them to be. The correct solution is that externalities associated with consumption should be priced in by fiat. The government has the (uneviable) task of protecting the environment because it is a perfect example of a common good. Of course, such authority must be given to the government by the people; it is already happening to a very small extent; as climate change becomes more real to people's everyday lives, I expect to see more movement in this direction. Of course, by then it will probably be too late, but we can hope that it will not be.
- swayvil 2y ago
  The technologies of education and advertising have proven to be quite good at changing people.
  - carapace 2y ago
    Yeah, this. Perfect example, our crazy car-based transportation network was popularized by a deliberate domestic propaganda campaign, we went from vilifying "speed demons" to vilifying "jaywalkers" because "they" told us to: "The Real Reason Jaywalking Is A Crime" (Adam Ruins Everything) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxopfjXkArM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxopfjXkArM "Street Rivals: Jaywalking and the Invention of the Motor Age Street", Peter D. Norton https://www.jstor.org/stable/40061474 https://www.jstor.org/stable/40061474 If we can convince people that it's their own fault for getting hit by cars, we can do anything.
cassepipe 2y ago
I think you fall in the typical trap of thinking that social issues are easier to solve than technical ones. This is not the case. "Why take vaccines ? Can't we just be well-behaved, wear a mask, air spaces correctly or put air filters everywhere ?" The answer is no. https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/10/society-is-fixed-biology-is-mutable/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/10/society-is-fixed-biolo...