Accountability is not a lot to ask, but who decides what the true cost of a car is? In today’s world it takes more time, energy and money to live in an environmentally friendly way. Cars now are now a necessity not just a luxury as they were in the past and people aren’t going to want to give them up. How would one reconcile the added cost to cars while still making them affordable to the population?
However great and needed the concept of True Cost Economics is, there isn't a lot of hope for it as long as people are avaricious and unwilling to compromise. It’s doomed from the start if people can’t even recognize there is a problem.
I think the point, at least in my example, is to reduce our dependency on cars altogether. If they were more expensive, fewer people would own them.
There are a lot of very complex changes that would have to be made to our entire system in order for this whole thing to work. We'd obviously have to do something about sprawl, which is the primary reason so many people have to have a car.
By any chance have you read the new issue of Adbusters? They talk a lot about the possibilities of TCE. It's very interesting, however fanciful a pipe dream the whole thing may be.
I find this incredibly fascinating. Thank you for the link I can't believe I haven't seen this on adbusters before. I also appreciate your journal and the views you express in it. It's always refreshing to see people who care
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To be honest, I think capitalism is an unstoppable beast at this point.
I don't think people in general will start to consider the alternatives until they have to...meaning, once we've sucked up all the resources, destroyed the environment, and we are facing extinction ourselves, we may actually begin to put our heads together and come up with a new plan.
But until then, I think we're stuck with capitalism and all the destruction that accompanies it.
it's called the external cost.. in environmental terms. In reality, gas should cost around 5$ a gallon due to all those factors you listed. But you're right- it's completely neccesary... even though while this is the Land of the Free... this is also the land of lazy, comfortable americans.
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However great and needed the concept of True Cost Economics is, there isn't a lot of hope for it as long as people are avaricious and unwilling to compromise. It’s doomed from the start if people can’t even recognize there is a problem.
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There are a lot of very complex changes that would have to be made to our entire system in order for this whole thing to work. We'd obviously have to do something about sprawl, which is the primary reason so many people have to have a car.
By any chance have you read the new issue of Adbusters? They talk a lot about the possibilities of TCE. It's very interesting, however fanciful a pipe dream the whole thing may be.
Check this out.
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I don't think people in general will start to consider the alternatives until they have to...meaning, once we've sucked up all the resources, destroyed the environment, and we are facing extinction ourselves, we may actually begin to put our heads together and come up with a new plan.
But until then, I think we're stuck with capitalism and all the destruction that accompanies it.
Anyway, thank you for your comments!
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