For systematic effort I think you are right. At the same time I think it makes sense to feel responsible for the world around you in a way that goes beyond “picking up after one self”.
Just because you didn’t cause a problem doesn’t mean that you are not responsible for fixing it.
It does not seem like we are really disagreeing here in principle, only in degree. I fix trivial things like paper cups in some shared space, reprimanding people I witness littering, but I won’t go out of my way to pick up every cigarette butt on the street nor do I devote my life to ending poverty.
Basically I live according to the principle to fix my own yard for a somewhat arbitrarily extended definition of “yard”.
This is not about picking up after one self—which I advocate—but about systematic efforts like cleaning up a neighbourhood.
For systematic effort I think you are right. At the same time I think it makes sense to feel responsible for the world around you in a way that goes beyond “picking up after one self”.
Just because you didn’t cause a problem doesn’t mean that you are not responsible for fixing it.
It does not seem like we are really disagreeing here in principle, only in degree. I fix trivial things like paper cups in some shared space, reprimanding people I witness littering, but I won’t go out of my way to pick up every cigarette butt on the street nor do I devote my life to ending poverty.
Basically I live according to the principle to fix my own yard for a somewhat arbitrarily extended definition of “yard”.
I would agree with that.