Anyway, your argument is a perfect example of "don't let perfect be the enemy of good." It will be much easier to convince people to become vegetarian or vegan in the future if they first get used to not eating meat with every meal/every day.

[–] Enkers@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (9 children)

I don't mean to equate anything here, but do you think that would have been an effective strategy for social change in other movements?

Like: "What if we just did a little slavery? It'll be much easier to convince slave owners to give up slavery if they got used to having just a few slaves."

Do you think that would have been an effective strategy instead of calling for complete abolition?

Once again, I'm not trying to draw a comparison here, you could substitute any past social movement, but the logical structure should hold regardless.

[–] Miaou@jlai.lu 1 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

That's exactly how most social movements, including slavery, evolved, but OK.

[–] Enkers@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Really? That's how things play out in reality for sure, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be calling for anything less than a complete abolition of animal exploitation and cruelty. But let's try it with some social movement that's often discussed on Lemmy to be sure. Do you think this is a good take:

"You shouldn't call for an end to the genocide in Gaza, that's unrealistic. Just stick to 'Israel should try and kill fewer Palestinians.' Don't let perfect be the enemy of good."

The problem of advocating for half measures is that you don't properly communicate that the behavior in question is unacceptable. It sends a mixed message: "It's bad and you shouldn't do it, but it's still OK to do a little."

[–] Miaou@jlai.lu 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

I'm not advocating for half measures myself, but stating that half measures don't work is simply historically false. You call for radical measures, bomb a bunch of official buildings, get some rights, and then go back to step one. But it never happens overnight, no matter how much we want it to

[–] Enkers@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

I agree, and understand change takes time. But to be clear, I'm saying advocating for half measures is relatively ineffective, not that half measures themselves have no effect.

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