this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2024
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This is also implying that common everyday people actually have control or can influence the situation.
While a wealthy few in the world are the ones that can actually drive change for the better but refuse to because it would affect their wealth and power.
90% of the population wants to do something
10% of the population owns everything
The 10% who have all the control don't mind watching the world burn as long as they keep their mansion.
90% of the population can't do anything because they don't have the wealth to influence anything
100% of the world is completely fine with this situation.
90% of the population can't do anything because they're not organized. Collectively, we have power.
I think most of us are resigned to this situation.
We're not good at popular organizing. We're very good at finding ways of othering factions, which the elite are glad to utilize.
We're good at consolidating power. We're not good at utilizing that power to serve the public. Hence billionaires don't even think of charity work except as a means to preserve power.
The human species may be doomed to extinction or a cap on technological progress. We may just be tribal hunters too attached to dominance hierarchy to reach into space and colonize other worlds.
Or we may be stuck in a perpetual cycle where we just form feudal empires that poison the world for another epoch.
The solution — if there is one — is sociological. We figure out a way to diffuse political power so it can't be consolidated. We fix dominance hierarchy and tragedy of the commons. We figure out a way to teach people that everybody (even the ones that disgust us) are part of the community and deserve regard.
Until we find it, we'll continue to let elites hold all the resources and poison the earth with impunity.
This is the final jeopardy question... We need to focus on how to shape society to be resistant to power consolidation. Otherwise any progress is temporary at best
From an evolutionary perspective, only the ones who survive matter.
So in that spirit, the only way to create a society resistant to power consolidations is one that actively recognizes, seeks out and annihilates said power consolidations.
As otherwise, they will annihilate everything opposing them -- as history tells us.
There are gentler social traditions to distribute wealth and power so as to avoid consolidation. Probably the post-colonial world is beyond that point.
A scary prospect, to be sure, but in the grand scheme of things.. "The secrets of evolution are time and death" as Carl Sagan said in Cosmos.
Mother Anarchy loves her sons.
Addressing fundamental flaws in the human psyche is absolutely a worthwhile endeavor.
I get the impression that, millennia from now, it might be possible for a person to look back on what humanity was before such technology was discovered. But, I'm a product of my time. I cannot fathom how that would be practical and ethical to achieve. That said, I am absolutely open to the discussion.
If you follow this, this is the "give up" argument. Fuck that. I'm not giving up.
I get into this headspace often, but try to remember that all human systems are subject to being disrupted and dismantled, no matter their power or influence.
Here's why I take issue with this statement:
An example of an individual creating meaningful positive change is teachers. Most people have had a great teacher, and larger schools have greater reach and influence, thus an individual with many students over a period of time can make a big difference at the local level. And one of those students can rise to prominence and do further good.
Another is some benevolent nonprofits that seek government funding to maximize their reach and support of the community. Often they're run by one or a small handful of folks. If they're lucky, and prepared, they can affect positive change for many, like community garden organizers.
There can be a large volume of good change from a single person's actions because of influence. Not saying that it's a fast mechanism for change, but I refuse to abandon it. Because although it's likely the only solution we have, it's still one that is fueled by will and daily choice, which most everyone can enact in small and big ways.
Frankly, if we could just put solidarity of the working class first, we outnumber them.
I agree with you.
An apathetic populace is how despots or oligopolies consolidate or retain their power.
Activism doesn't always work, but there are plenty of historical examples of big social changes coming on the back of direct action by the people.
On the specific topic here, of greenhouse emissions, the U.S. has been decreasing its per capita emissions for something like 15-20 years. We have a long way to go, and should be going faster, but we are making progress right now. And none of this progress was inevitable. It was specific efforts by nonprofits, by governmental entities, by private industry, and by individuals to demand lower emissions.
Past environmental successes include the elimination of acid rain, the reversal of the hole in the ozone layer, and the vast improvement in outdoor particulate pollution and smog in the past few decades. This stuff matters, we have been making a difference, and the moment we give up we will start backsliding.
I always thought a significant majority wanted change, but I recently learned that a surpassingly large amount of people are against it outside of my social bubble. Even young people (about 20yo).
A lot of people seem to make up their minds about these topics with very little information. They blindly repeat the things some politicians spout, even though it’s complete BS. And when I question them about it they seem to actually know very little about it. They get uncomfortable and try to avoid the discussion, but their opinions still mostly stay the same.
It’s frustrating, and it has given me a lot less hope that we will be able to deal with it.
That is it. Most people want climate change to end, but without any change for themself. That however just does not work.
The good news is that as soon as the systems of phasing out fossil fuel are in place, that momentum helps to keep it running.
I hope you're right
I think that the true number is somewhere between 30 and maybe 60%. People are very resistant to change.
They can, but the trouble is they have to be willing to go to prison (or be killed by police) for eco-terrorism.
Common everyday people can influence the situation. For example, we can build bombs and set them off inside gas plants.
No, I don't expect you to become a suicide bomber. But this is the truth: how much change you can accomplish is directly proportional to how much effort you put in. I'm putting in effort.
To me the saddest part is that it’s more like 99.99% of us want and know how to fix things, but 0.01% control everything. There are something like around 3000 billionaires worldwide…
Despite the fediverse's reputation for leaning leftist, I feel like such a stranger with how often I find myself arguing that the collective action and solidarity of the working class can and has improved the material outcomes of nations, with or without the capital of the owner class, and with or without the approval of the government.
Fight in whatever way makes sense to you. Some people will carpool or use less hot water. Some will put peer pressure on wealthy acquaintances. Some will alter design requirements or RFQs. Some will [redacted] a pipeline. It all works towards the same end.
Yes, this is the fault of the owner class, but who do you think is going to force them to change if we all sit on our hands and say, "I dunno, man, that sounds like someone else's responsibility."