A lot of our economics relies on poverty in other countries to allow our “standard” of living. Cheap food, cheap clothes and people to take all of the rubbish we produce. Lifting other people out of poverty necessitates a lot of changes in our own lives, and unfortunately people tend to see all change as being negative and unwelcome. We see kids in India picking through rubbish dumps and are horrified, but are reluctant to reuse a water bottle and bring our own shopping bags to the store. We are outraged at the conditions of garment workers in Bangladesh, but still want cheap throw-away fast fashion, and are upset when nobody wants the castoffs that we give as “charity”.
A lot of our economics relies on poverty in other countries to allow our “standard” of living. Cheap food, cheap clothes and people to take all of the rubbish we produce. Lifting other people out of poverty necessitates a lot of changes in our own lives, and unfortunately people tend to see all change as being negative and unwelcome. We see kids in India picking through rubbish dumps and are horrified, but are reluctant to reuse a water bottle and bring our own shopping bags to the store. We are outraged at the conditions of garment workers in Bangladesh, but still want cheap throw-away fast fashion, and are upset when nobody wants the castoffs that we give as “charity”.