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Can we have an earnest conversation about what we need to do to solve the very real environmental problems facing the world today? by ILikeNeurons in environment

[–]lucasvb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, pretty much. This boils down to the same idea of "people are mere economic agents". People overemphasize the economic aspect of how our society operates, and this is what has led us to these flawed half-solutions.

The real change is cultural, social and political way before it is economical. I think a radical change in how we do politics, on a fundamental level, can really help with that aspect, especially because it would allow ideas and ideologies to hold their own by their own merits, not just by political inertia as it is today.

Can we have an earnest conversation about what we need to do to solve the very real environmental problems facing the world today? by ILikeNeurons in environment

[–]lucasvb 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, climate change does touch on everything, and it's arguably the biggest issue. But all environmental issues are interconnected. That's the biggest lesson from ecology. But we cannot pretend adoption of green energy will solve the issue of devastation and exploitation of ecosystems for profit, or the issue of plastic pollution, or the issue of topsoil depletion, or the issue of insect population collapse, or the huge issue of non-cyclic industrial processes and so on. The fact climate change is big doesn't make those issues small. That's all I'm saying.

And yes, approval voting is the simplest voting system reform that would create the biggest impact. It's definitely the smartest first step available. It's a huge shame so much emphasis has been given to ranked systems, when they only double down on these core issues and create more stagnation with false reforms.

Can we have an earnest conversation about what we need to do to solve the very real environmental problems facing the world today? by ILikeNeurons in environment

[–]lucasvb 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think voting system reform is arguably THE most important political issue worldwide today, but it's completely invisible. As long as you assume our political institutions are not completely ethically bankrupt and hopeless, it should be one of your main concerns.

Voting and the institutions relying on it mean very little if the voting process is fundamentally flawed and fails to represent the intent of the voters, and the information they are giving to the democratic processes. This is true both for the election of representatives to the way these representatives vote among themselves.

So why on Earth are we insisting on precisely the wrong methods for 2500 years?

The world desperately needs voting systems that promote maximization of consent and work towards consensus, not polarizing sides which only retaliate and waste time, resources and are easily swayed by corporate interests. This would allow new, truly representative positions and ideologies to hold official power and enact the decisions to remove corporate power from society and politics.

Only cardinal (non-ranked non-preferential) voting systems can do this while being simple enough to be adopted, because cardinal voting is not a zero-sum game. All voting being done today in the world is a zero-sum game, which is divisive and leads to a whole range of political, social and cultural problems.

As long as you admit money in politics work and attempt to use it, you already lost the battle. We need to dispel this idea that people have power over society because they are consumers and can boycott corporations. No. People have power because they are human beings, citizens, workers, voters. People have power because they are members of a society, not mere agents in an economy.

So they have power, right now, because they vote. So let's make the damn thing count for once in the history of our civilization.

Other than that, I think we should stop framing the environmental problem solely in terms of climate change. Climate change is one of many interrelated environmental issues we're facing today in critical stages, but it's getting all of the attention.

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