You are BANG on but the solution to this problem needs to be extremely carefully considered.
For one, keeping the economy going and growing is actually our only chance to tackle climate change and fossil fuel egress.
The reason the western nations have been able to reduce their per-capita consumption is because of accumulated wealth during their booms (and colonialism) that they were then able to spend on efficient infrastructure, whether nuclear, solar or wind. China is smart and collectivist enough to achieve the same, but the rest of the world isn't yet.
There have been incredible advancements in efficiencies and costs of things like solar, making it cheaper, but to truly migrate the world still requires massive expenditures and investments into energy grid upgrades, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, etc.
All of this requires wealth, which requires a growing economy, which requires optimism. Because the economy is only as positive as the optimism of the populace.
Optimism isn't rational. There has never been a time in Human history (maybe for less than a decade in the 90s between the fall of the cold war and 9/11, as long as you weren't in the balkans) when the logical decision would've been to be optimistic about the future. Yet people did anyway out of necessity/obligation to their children, out of religion, out of greed, out of empathy. Whatever is the reason it is required.
And this is what I see lacking today - especially with Gen Z, who's education we (well - their Gen X parents, but in the society) fucked up by telling them the truth.
We told them the world is going to hell, that anything good they had is based on generations of blood and exploitation, the world is unfair and is full of rich people getting richer, and nepotism.
And, I actually believe everything in that sentence is true! But it's irrelevant. Because it's no foundation for actually DOING something about the problem. Instead it's an exercise to disengage, to decide not to participate in society, to sink deeper into online social spaces that this generation was raised on by being exposed to screens & social media too early. So what do they get attracted to instead? Red pill, manosphere, 4chan, and eventually Trump.
Because here come people with solutions - there IS a problem, but it's not your fault - it's THEIR fault (women, immigrants, foreigners).
How can you not be attracted to it?
The left has no alternative answer for this. They/we/me want a better world, but we focus on equalization of justice - to bring up the disadvantaged to the level of the dominant class - but no plan for what to do next. If western prosperity was borne out of exploitation, you can't simply raise the formerly-exploited to the high water mark, and expect to be able to continue growing it at the same pace. (That's before even getting into ongoing exploitation that funds the entire western world by taking advantage of the 3rd world)
And yet, you also can't sink into apathy. You need awareness of the realities of the situation, but you need to empower people that they can make a change...that they can participate. And that they can overcome.
Some of this requires self-delusion, but ultimately it needs inspiration. Of which the left is extraordinarily low on right now.
> the world is going to hell, that anything good they had is based on generations of blood and exploitation, the world is unfair and is full of rich people getting richer, and nepotism.
This is a big problem with the left.
Imagine a psychologist telling a patient, "The worst things you've ever done define who you are. Many peoples' lives were ruined, because of you.
You should feel bad. All the time.
The good parts of your life, the things you like, come at terrible hurts to others.
Even if you personally didn't inflict the hurt, you're morally responsible.
Any improvements you've made count for nothing. They are not equal to past wrongs.
"
Most people can recognize this is bad advice. Such a psychologist would probably be quickly fired by many of their patients, and would probably lose their authorization to practice if the licensing board found out what kind of "therapy" they provide.
That's what the left is telling our society.
Buying a steak for dinner? That money could have been spent on twenty African children will go hungry tonight -- only a greedy bastard would eat a steak dinner.
Flying across the country to visit your aging parents? Those CO2 emissions will make the next hurricane slightly more powerful, and one more person will die -- only a callous murderer would so wantonly consume fossil fuels.
Making an honorable, well-compensated living as a software engineer? Your technical skills don't matter, you only have that job because of a white male privilege. Only a despicable misogynist racist would work at a well-paying job doing something you love.
Things are a lot better for women and minorities in the 21st century than in the 1800's, or even most of the 1900's. But things aren't perfect when it comes to race / gender interaction -- so the past progress doesn't matter.
Certain vocal, influential segments of the left have gone from honest critique of problems in our society, to a game of "Think Of Reasons To Hate Yourself." I refuse to play that game: Even if you win, you lose.
They're saying "These things happen, and it's important to KNOW that." Nobody is telling people that they should feel bad for it, but if it doesn't feel fair to those that were harmed by it, that's cuz it's not. Feeling like hey the world isn't fair, and maybe we should do something about it, is a good thing actually.
The right meanwhile IS actively trying to repress information and education about these subjects.
The problem is there is a segment of people who when you tell them something like "Hey you did a bad thing and it hurt me. Could you apologize and then we could move on with our relationship?" respond with "OH So I'm the WORST PERSON IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD am I? Noone has ever hurt you as much as I have, have I? You just want me to keep apologizing for the rest of my life do you? When is enough going to be enough?"
When you haven't yet received even a single acknowledgement of their error.
We call such people narcissists and they dominate the modern right wing.
You can see it here in how you describe your scenarios. Of course I've seen people criticize societal-scale meat production's carbon footprint. And suggesting that we all eat less steak. Some people say we should stop eating meat entirely. But "You ate a steak? There's starving children in africa, you GREEDY BASTARD" is not even a real life single tweeter. That's just a person you made up.
There has to be a middle ground between what I'm advocating for (education, but with optimism, agency, and hope) and what you are (denial, rejection, anger, gaslighting).
For one, keeping the economy going and growing is actually our only chance to tackle climate change and fossil fuel egress.
The reason the western nations have been able to reduce their per-capita consumption is because of accumulated wealth during their booms (and colonialism) that they were then able to spend on efficient infrastructure, whether nuclear, solar or wind. China is smart and collectivist enough to achieve the same, but the rest of the world isn't yet.
There have been incredible advancements in efficiencies and costs of things like solar, making it cheaper, but to truly migrate the world still requires massive expenditures and investments into energy grid upgrades, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, etc.
All of this requires wealth, which requires a growing economy, which requires optimism. Because the economy is only as positive as the optimism of the populace.
Optimism isn't rational. There has never been a time in Human history (maybe for less than a decade in the 90s between the fall of the cold war and 9/11, as long as you weren't in the balkans) when the logical decision would've been to be optimistic about the future. Yet people did anyway out of necessity/obligation to their children, out of religion, out of greed, out of empathy. Whatever is the reason it is required.
And this is what I see lacking today - especially with Gen Z, who's education we (well - their Gen X parents, but in the society) fucked up by telling them the truth.
We told them the world is going to hell, that anything good they had is based on generations of blood and exploitation, the world is unfair and is full of rich people getting richer, and nepotism.
And, I actually believe everything in that sentence is true! But it's irrelevant. Because it's no foundation for actually DOING something about the problem. Instead it's an exercise to disengage, to decide not to participate in society, to sink deeper into online social spaces that this generation was raised on by being exposed to screens & social media too early. So what do they get attracted to instead? Red pill, manosphere, 4chan, and eventually Trump.
Because here come people with solutions - there IS a problem, but it's not your fault - it's THEIR fault (women, immigrants, foreigners).
How can you not be attracted to it?
The left has no alternative answer for this. They/we/me want a better world, but we focus on equalization of justice - to bring up the disadvantaged to the level of the dominant class - but no plan for what to do next. If western prosperity was borne out of exploitation, you can't simply raise the formerly-exploited to the high water mark, and expect to be able to continue growing it at the same pace. (That's before even getting into ongoing exploitation that funds the entire western world by taking advantage of the 3rd world)
And yet, you also can't sink into apathy. You need awareness of the realities of the situation, but you need to empower people that they can make a change...that they can participate. And that they can overcome.
Some of this requires self-delusion, but ultimately it needs inspiration. Of which the left is extraordinarily low on right now.