A fixation on system change alone opens the door to a kind of cynical self-absolution that divorces personal commitment from political belief. This is its own kind of false consciousness, one that threatens to create a cheapened climate politics incommensurate with this urgent moment.

[…]

Because here’s the thing: When you choose to eat less meat or take the bus instead of driving or have fewer children, you are making a statement that your actions matter, that it’s not too late to avert climate catastrophe, that you have power. To take a measure of personal responsibility for climate change doesn’t have to distract from your political activism—if anything, it amplifies it.

  • MrMakabar@slrpnk.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    14 hours ago

    How do people die from not having a car? It must be a lot of them, given that most can not afford them, but depend on them…

    • UsernameHere@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      9 hours ago

      You don’t know that people use cars to get to work? And get food?

      If I were to stop using fuel I would have no way to get to work and earn money. Which means no house or food or anything.

      Why does that need to be explained to you?

        • UsernameHere@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          7 hours ago

          Congrats. Now get 100% of the worlds population to do the same.

          Then you will have reduced less than 14% of the emissions needed.

          That’s why BP paid a marketing firm to get the public focused on their individual carbon footprint. So you waste your time trying to get 100% of the worlds population to change their individual carbon footprint.

          Instead of focusing on getting the majority of voters to protest and vote.

          • MrMakabar@slrpnk.net
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            57 seconds ago

            So you waste your time trying to get 100% of the worlds population to change their individual carbon footprint.

            That is the plan. How else are you going to get to zero, but to change the everybodies carbon footprint.

            Instead of focusing on getting the majority of voters to protest and vote.

            To do what? Ban combustion engines to force everybody to change their individual carbon footprint? Any sort of actually massive climate legislation is going to impact a lot of peoples life directly.