Is new tech cool enough to justify the harm, or the labor?
Samsung has a new laundry washer (or dryer?) that has a phone built into it so that you can ... i guess talk on the phone while you fold laundry?
That's cool, I guess. Neat little convenience thing, not having to carry your phone to the laundry room.
But it's not cool, because the neat little convenience comes at a cost, and I'm not talking about money.
That cost comes in the form of mining rare earth minerals. This mining creates pollution, both because of runoff and because of the energy required. (also, manufacturing and transportation) A lot of rare-earth mining is done in poor nations where labor is exploitative, some of it using child labor or slave labor, much of it not providing adequate protective gear for workers.
Even if the environmental impacts and the labor exploitation were mitigated, do we really want to live in a world that cares so much about our own convenience that other people have to work these jobs?
Jobs make the modern world go round. We use labor as a means to distribute resources - money, shelter, food, products, services. If you don't have a job, you don't get access to resources.
This constant drive toward "improvement" is what keeps this system afloat. How many jobs would be lost if we stopped producing 20 brand new smartphone models every year? Or 20 new cars every year? (okay, probably 100 of each idk).
Now think about this across every industry - office chairs, tables, home furniture, kitchen appliances, lighting fixtures, stuffed animals, and on-and-on.
Do we really need any of this new stuff? Has cooking equipment really advanced so much in the last 70 years? Do we need new iterations every single year? No, we don't.
What we need is a new system for distributing resources, one that does not depend upon consumerism (or the war machine!)
Let me put it this way: There are construction workers in your city who build new garages, new schools, new patios, new railings for staircases. If no-one in your city decides they need construction this year, should those workers go hungry?
I think culturally we need to move more toward accepting what we have, what works. I think we should resist the new-product consumerism cycle. I think we should keep working toward meaningful advances that solve real problems, but should abandon superficial advances that just kind of tickle our dopamine receptors. (8k TVs anyone? Was I actually EVER unhappy with 1080p? No. 1080p FUCKING ROCKS)
But how do we do it? How do we convince average consumers, who have money to spend, that you should not buy that new thing?
I believe it is ethically and morally wrong to engage in the majority of consumerism, just as many vegans would argue it is wrong to consume animal meat.
I don't think this will win a lot of people over though. And I'm still a consumer sometimes, and I still eat animal meat sometimes. And frankly, I think getting people to genuinely believe that their consumer choice directly causes harm is ... idk ... tough.
The ads on TV don't tell you about the slave labor that built their products, or the forest that was cut down for that pound of free-range beef.
I think a truly just world needs us all to take responsibility for our small part in the machine that is exploitative capitalism. I think workers need to stop building things, and consumers need to stop buying.
I know a lot of people want big government solutions to many of these problems (and I do to), but there is no just future without massive change, without sacrifice from the people.
The government can't reduce the number of deforestations without regular people eating less beef. That's just the reality of it.
And lastly, what do we do in this new world I'm advocating for? With less work, we make more art, share more time with our community and our loved ones, sing and dance, garden more, relax more, be in nature more.
I love programming. But would I be willing to give it up to live in this more just world? In a world that doesn't need more programming?
I don't know. It might be kinda boring.
Pitch Summary for Current Affairs
I am pitching this piece to Current Affairs (well, it will be a substantial rework of this piece), and below is the pitch summary I'm sending them (a shortened re-working of the above piece).
Construction workers in your city build new garages, new schools, new patios, new railings for staircases. If no-one in your city needs construction this year, should those workers go hungry?
Samsung has a new laundry washer with a phone built into it so you can make phone calls while you fold laundry. It's a nice little convenience, so you don't have to carry your phone to the laundry room. But this nice little convenience comes at a cost, and I don't mean money.
That cost comes in the form of mining rare earth minerals. This mining creates pollution, both from runoff and energy production. A lot of rare-earth mining is done in poor nations where labor is exploitative, some of it using child labor or slave labor, much of it not providing adequate protective gear for workers. Then comes manufacturing and transportation of the laundry machine.
Even if the environmental impacts and the labor exploitation were mitigated, do we really want to live in a world that cares so much about our own convenience that other people have to work these jobs, just for a phone in our laundry room?
Now think about this across every industry - office chairs, tables, home furniture, kitchen appliances, lighting fixtures, stuffed animals, and on-and-on.
Do we really need any of this new stuff? Has cooking equipment really advanced so much in the last 70 years? Do we need new iterations every single year? No, we don't.
It is ethically and morally wrong to engage in the majority of consumerism, just as many vegans would argue it is wrong to consume animal meat.
But the ads on TV don't tell you about the slave labor that built their products, or the forest that was cut down for that pound of free-range beef, or the suffering of the children poisoned by dirty water.
A truly just world needs us all to take responsibility for our small part in the machine that is exploitative capitalism. Workers need to stop building things, and consumers need to stop buying. We should keep working toward meaningful advances that solve real problems, but should abandon superficial advances that just tickle our dopamine receptors, like 8K TVs. Was anyone really unhappy with 1080p?
I know a lot of people want big government solutions to many of these problems (and I do to), but there is no just future without massive change, without sacrifice from the people. Governments can't reduce the number of deforestations without regular people eating less beef. We need to demand more from our Governments, and understand that they can't act without our sacrifices.
But jobs make the modern world go round. We use labor as a means to distribute resources - money, shelter, food, products, services. If you don't have a job, you don't get money or food or shelter.
We must build a new world with fewer jobs and fewer products. We must re-imagine work, not as a full time, year-round endeavor required for survival, but as a part-time task to serve those in and beyond our communities. We must reimagine our lives, not as rat-races to be won through riches, but as journeys meant for joy and connection.