The point is that if, counterfactually, you chose to act to reduce death and suffering in the world today you could save lives. Others could do the same, but both you and they are refraining from doing so. And your post (talking about “money in the system”) sounds like it is confusing money as a medium of exchange for the productive value of your labor (which has a certain market value).
I get the point. What I don’t understand is why the point ends up at:
[E]very time you get your hair cut, or go to a movie, or drink a Starbucks latte, you’re killing someone.
A weird part of this sentiment is that it has nothing to do with haircuts or Starbucks. If I stop going to movies, I don’t stop killing people. If I spend all of my money not killing people, I don’t stop killing people. No matter how I act, I will always be killing people.
In addition, everyone is always killing people. The people dying are killing people. This is obviously wrong but I don’t see how the beginning parts about drinking Starbucks can be true but the latter parts about everyone killing people can be false.
And your post (talking about “money in the system”) sounds like it is confusing money as a medium of exchange for the productive value of your labor (which has a certain market value).
$10 is an easy way to talk about value. The specifics of monetary systems and their relation to labor isn’t really relevant to the point. (At least, as far as I can tell.)
The point is that if, counterfactually, you chose to act to reduce death and suffering in the world today you could save lives. Others could do the same, but both you and they are refraining from doing so. And your post (talking about “money in the system”) sounds like it is confusing money as a medium of exchange for the productive value of your labor (which has a certain market value).
I get the point. What I don’t understand is why the point ends up at:
A weird part of this sentiment is that it has nothing to do with haircuts or Starbucks. If I stop going to movies, I don’t stop killing people. If I spend all of my money not killing people, I don’t stop killing people. No matter how I act, I will always be killing people.
In addition, everyone is always killing people. The people dying are killing people. This is obviously wrong but I don’t see how the beginning parts about drinking Starbucks can be true but the latter parts about everyone killing people can be false.
$10 is an easy way to talk about value. The specifics of monetary systems and their relation to labor isn’t really relevant to the point. (At least, as far as I can tell.)