I think it is true. So true. People whom I have upbraided for selling rare flowers or digging vegetable gardens on protected territories immediately began to talk about oligarchs having private residences in our beloved forests and why am I not doing anything about that?..
I’ve experienced this as well, in different contexts. It’s depressing to watch birders and even more commonly bird photographers trample on protected habitat just to get a better look at a bird. That being said, there’s perhaps a fallacy here. It is absolutely true that some people value their personal comfort and wealth over broader values like environmental protection or the general health of the population, at least some of the time. It is also true that some people pick broader values like environmental protection or the general health of the population, even at some cost to their personal comfort and specific wants, at least some of the time.
Neither statement is true of all people, all of the time. The real questions we should ask are:
1) How many people, how much of the time?
2) Which people? And why?
3) What can we do to require less specific sacrifice in favor of the general good?
Both of these questions are better asked of very specific cases. For instance, you’ll get different answers if you talk about, for example, reducing marine speed limits in Florida to protect manatees or installing smokestack scrubbers on coal-fired power plants.
Talking in generalities often avoids the hard work of quantification on real world problems in favor of ideologically motivated displays of tribal allegiance.
Okay, I apologize for my cynical answer, I have met people who tied themselves to the branches of the trees in their park (and were cut down). However, if anything I would expect voting to be an example of ideologically motivated displays of tribal allegiance.
The first two questions you pose seem to me impractical, since even a single ‘nature user’ can undo the effect of many ‘non-users’ (who often simply don’t intervene and so don’t bring [apparent] harm). If in my village the tradition to burn meadows in spring persists even though they have not been massively used as pastures for twenty years, whom will I address? Most likely, some boys set fire to the dry grass to have fun, and the rest are simply used to smelling the smoke in early spring to say anything of it.
Now, the third question is rather interesting, but also has the weakness that the less specific the sacrifice, the less control one has over it. In my experience, it was always a kind of give-and-take—I understand that you will keep doing this, but I caught you this time—Oh well, I promise not to do it again—By the way, where did you collect these pasqueflowers? - Oh, in such-and-such place—All right, we’ll do our best to have the place reserved—Please do, although you will need our village’s head consent, and she wants to sell the plot for a large sum! - Dreadful—Awful—Bye—Bye. Probably with power plants it is worse. There’s always someone one level above you. There’s always a way to present your actions as motivated by money. This is, among other things, a reason to affiliate yourself with a group that doesn’t get paid for doing this kind of negotiations, but on the other hand, you need funds to do any kind of constructive work (much less for simply spreading the word or running after individual offenders). You need to buy the gas to drive into remote places, for example.
Other people decide to quantify RWP and you see them signing quotas for cut wood or something, and you know there’s no way to check how much wood will really be cut unless you make it your business, which means 1) the people who sign quotas give the cutters ammunition, 2) the people who sign quotas won’t involve themselves further, 3) you still need the gas to go there, and 4) but now you will be seen acting in bad faith.
I think it is true. So true. People whom I have upbraided for selling rare flowers or digging vegetable gardens on protected territories immediately began to talk about oligarchs having private residences in our beloved forests and why am I not doing anything about that?..
I’ve experienced this as well, in different contexts. It’s depressing to watch birders and even more commonly bird photographers trample on protected habitat just to get a better look at a bird. That being said, there’s perhaps a fallacy here. It is absolutely true that some people value their personal comfort and wealth over broader values like environmental protection or the general health of the population, at least some of the time. It is also true that some people pick broader values like environmental protection or the general health of the population, even at some cost to their personal comfort and specific wants, at least some of the time.
Neither statement is true of all people, all of the time. The real questions we should ask are:
1) How many people, how much of the time? 2) Which people? And why? 3) What can we do to require less specific sacrifice in favor of the general good?
Both of these questions are better asked of very specific cases. For instance, you’ll get different answers if you talk about, for example, reducing marine speed limits in Florida to protect manatees or installing smokestack scrubbers on coal-fired power plants.
Talking in generalities often avoids the hard work of quantification on real world problems in favor of ideologically motivated displays of tribal allegiance.
Okay, I apologize for my cynical answer, I have met people who tied themselves to the branches of the trees in their park (and were cut down). However, if anything I would expect voting to be an example of ideologically motivated displays of tribal allegiance.
The first two questions you pose seem to me impractical, since even a single ‘nature user’ can undo the effect of many ‘non-users’ (who often simply don’t intervene and so don’t bring [apparent] harm). If in my village the tradition to burn meadows in spring persists even though they have not been massively used as pastures for twenty years, whom will I address? Most likely, some boys set fire to the dry grass to have fun, and the rest are simply used to smelling the smoke in early spring to say anything of it.
Now, the third question is rather interesting, but also has the weakness that the less specific the sacrifice, the less control one has over it. In my experience, it was always a kind of give-and-take—I understand that you will keep doing this, but I caught you this time—Oh well, I promise not to do it again—By the way, where did you collect these pasqueflowers? - Oh, in such-and-such place—All right, we’ll do our best to have the place reserved—Please do, although you will need our village’s head consent, and she wants to sell the plot for a large sum! - Dreadful—Awful—Bye—Bye. Probably with power plants it is worse. There’s always someone one level above you. There’s always a way to present your actions as motivated by money. This is, among other things, a reason to affiliate yourself with a group that doesn’t get paid for doing this kind of negotiations, but on the other hand, you need funds to do any kind of constructive work (much less for simply spreading the word or running after individual offenders). You need to buy the gas to drive into remote places, for example.
Other people decide to quantify RWP and you see them signing quotas for cut wood or something, and you know there’s no way to check how much wood will really be cut unless you make it your business, which means 1) the people who sign quotas give the cutters ammunition, 2) the people who sign quotas won’t involve themselves further, 3) you still need the gas to go there, and 4) but now you will be seen acting in bad faith.
Which means nobody trusts anybody else.