this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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It’s too bad for everything that exists that those that can actually do anything about it are too busy trying to come up with new ways to lie about it not happening and make sure that their idiot base continues to believe it.
From my experience, the problem is not climate denialism anymore, at least not where I live. If you ask someone to tell you about the climate problem and its causes, most will get it right.
What they do get wrong is on who is to blame. And I'm constantly seeing the same here. They blame the rich for making the problem worse. They blame China for polluting more than its fair share. They blame the politicians for adopting inadequate measures.
But they never blame themselves. They drive a 2 metric ton car everyday, perhaps they have 3 kids, or work in finance. Or they're broke and just can't stop thinking about money all the time.
The rich are rich because we keep making them richer. China overpollutes because we overconsume. Politicians take inadequate measures because they do what the population wants to be reelected on the next term.
From my point of view, if you are emitting more than 1.2 tonnes of CO2 equivalent before 2050 (Paris agreement) and 0 tonnes after, you're the problem. If you don't have the wits or will to see through the advertising wanting you to keep overconsuming, you're the problem. If you keep blaming the others and not seeing how the problem takes its root from you, you're the problem.
The problem is at the bottom. Thus solutions will not come from the top, they will come from the bottom. Stop waiting after "those than can actually do anything". If you're not happy with the society you live in, know that you are always free to stop participating in it, and should.
When enough people do so and labor shortage becomes rampant, when the stock market collapses, when only a fraction of people participate in elections and pay their taxes, only then will things change. Society, our sick society, will have collapsed then, willingly, and something better will have taken its place.
That's the only thing you're getting wrong here, but it's a very crucial point. Even in the best democracies on earth, political power does not come from the people as a whole, it is not distributed equally. It's kind of difficult to prove or quantify but this study succeeded for the US: https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/files/gilens_and_page_2014_-testing_theories_of_american_politics.doc.pdf
They showed that it's organized groups who actually influence politics. It's obvious that lobbyists of corporations and industry associations will be among them, but it also includes unions, climate lobby groups, etc. But corporate lobby groups often have similar interests whereas most non-corporate groups only talk about very few issues, making them less visible (the paper suggests that they'll be impactful if they all speak out in favor of the same things). Furthermore, who is actually part of such groups? It'll be the well-off people who don't have to work two or three jobs to survive. Now it's common knowledge that the US is far from being the best democracy on earth, but I have a feeling that the EU where some of the better democracies are located works very similarly.
Therefore it's neither correct nor fair or helpful to blame everyone. The elites need to be held accountable, or even better, be abolished.
VERY well said.