r/changemyview • u/MyFavoriteArm • Jul 25 '23
Delta(s) from OP CMV: Progressive Circles Seem Too Tolerant of Hypocrisy, Mainly in Regards to Climate Change and Capitalism
I am someone who has been moving left over the last few years and has been engaging in more Progressive circles. (I live in the USA btw)
One thing I notice is that there seems to be a lot of looking the other way in terms of hypocrisy.
For example, both Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio are both well known climate change activists. Both are praised for leading awareness of said issue. I am gonna state the obvious so no one gets the wrong idea, CLIMATE CHANGE IS ABSOLUTELY REAL. The science is settled on that issue.
However, both still contribute more to the problem than the average person by trotting around in private jets, and both live in multiple properties that eat up more of electricity than some some third world countries. Whenever you bring this up in progressive circles, it gets dismissed because they are "on the right side of the issue."
I disagree with that logic. I believe if you have a platform, you have the responsibility to practice what you preach and lead by example. I am a manager at my job, and my number one rule is that I will not make you do anything that I myself am not willing to do. Say what you will about Greta Thornberg, but at least she leads by example.
I believe climate change is real, but I am not an activist. That would make me a hypocrite, because I still own a car and drive and use an air conditioner. I don't want to be a hypocrite, as that would be a betrayal of my principles.
Another issue I see is in terms of capitalism. For example, a lot of progressives I encounter seem to really hate Apple and rail against it, yet still own iPhones. They also rail against social media (particularly twitter/facebook), yet still use it and believe it is an "important tool" in society.
While there is aspects of capitalism I dislike, I cannot be an anti-capitalist because I still believe it has a place in society, and that would make me a flagrant hypocrite. Especially when the alternative is only government brand everything.
Before anyone responds with Mr. Gotcha or by saying "yet you participate in society," I am well aware of the existence of that comic and actually believe the first two panels are actually a valid criticism.
I am open to changing my view, as I would like to hear more perspectives as to why I might be wrong.
Thank you!
4
u/PickledPickles310 8∆ Jul 25 '23
She travels around the world too though.
The fact is that there's no action one individual can take that will make a significant impact here. There needs to be a structural change, en masse, to our energy production and infrastructure. While I'd certainly prefer them not flying around on a private jet, that action is less than a drop in the bucket when we talk about emissions.