Ah I see. So it’s kind of like what people do with “no ethical consumption under capitalism”? My understanding is that you can’t expect purity, but focusing on making it more ethical over time is something an individual should do. Western leftists seem to want it to mean, “don’t feel bad about your lifestyle being based on exploitation of the global south”, which is nonsense
Yeah exactly. And I’m not about purity either, I think there are times when eating meat is ethically valid, especially in our current food system, people with eating disorders or people in poverty with no better options for example. I’m a little skeptical of “making it more ethical over time”, I feel we need revolutionary change now, but I still do and promote going vegan on an individual level of course. I see a lot of parallels with veganism and Marxism, and that we clearly need to put a lot more effort into organizing politically and not just making individual reforms. And for both, it’s going to be tough sledding. I’m guilty of acting mostly individually myself, the capitalist system is really really good at disenfranchising activism. Sorry for the ramble, I’m mostly typing it out to as a commitment to myself to be better.
Nah that’s super spot on and I appreciate the clarification. I definitely meant the incrementalism from an individual perspective. Systemically, it’s revolution now. Organizing is…. A lot. I just found a community supported agriculture group who keeps everything vegan and I’m considering putting in some time, but I’ve also got other duties to attend to. Who knows?
Ah I see. So it’s kind of like what people do with “no ethical consumption under capitalism”? My understanding is that you can’t expect purity, but focusing on making it more ethical over time is something an individual should do. Western leftists seem to want it to mean, “don’t feel bad about your lifestyle being based on exploitation of the global south”, which is nonsense
Yeah exactly. And I’m not about purity either, I think there are times when eating meat is ethically valid, especially in our current food system, people with eating disorders or people in poverty with no better options for example. I’m a little skeptical of “making it more ethical over time”, I feel we need revolutionary change now, but I still do and promote going vegan on an individual level of course. I see a lot of parallels with veganism and Marxism, and that we clearly need to put a lot more effort into organizing politically and not just making individual reforms. And for both, it’s going to be tough sledding. I’m guilty of acting mostly individually myself, the capitalist system is really really good at disenfranchising activism. Sorry for the ramble, I’m mostly typing it out to as a commitment to myself to be better.
Nah that’s super spot on and I appreciate the clarification. I definitely meant the incrementalism from an individual perspective. Systemically, it’s revolution now. Organizing is…. A lot. I just found a community supported agriculture group who keeps everything vegan and I’m considering putting in some time, but I’ve also got other duties to attend to. Who knows?