Looking back, I remember how we were to live by the reuse, reduce, and recycle campaign as a kid. However, as I grew up, I learned many untold stories about how not all plastics are created equal so not all plastics can be recycled.
After reading a seven-year-old article as part of my Learning for Sustainable Future course, I realized that my worldview regarding climate action has already shifted from the individual to the corporate, partly because of the nature of my job and the circles I belong.
From Neoliberalism has conned us into fighting climate change as individuals:
[Neoliberalism] tells you that you should not merely feel guilt and shame if you can’t secure a good job, are deep in debt, and are too stressed or overworked for time with friends. You are now also responsible for bearing the burden of potential ecological collapse.
Of course we need people to consume less and innovate low-carbon alternatives – build sustainable farms, invent battery storages, spread zero-waste methods. But individual choices will most count when the economic system can provide viable, environmental options for everyone—not just an affluent or intrepid few.
If affordable mass transit isn’t available, people will commute with cars. If local organic food is too expensive, they won’t opt out of fossil fuel-intensive super-market chains. If cheap mass produced goods flow endlessly, they will buy and buy and buy. This is the con-job of neoliberalism: to persuade us to address climate change through our pocket-books, rather than through power and politics.
jessa 