-LastCaress- t1_ixxetw5 wrote
Reply to comment by mikehatesthis in Rage against the machine are sell outs. You're literally paying multi millionaires hundreds of dollars an hour to sing songs about how capitalism is bad by [deleted]
I've always hated that comic. It steamrolls the point the guy is making in order to cast him off as a troll.
The point is (let's use the first example) - if Apple is doing shady things, we can demand they do better by not giving then our money. Under capitalism our money is everything. Our voice, our strength, our bartering tokens. It's literally the fuel capitalism is based on. Knowing this, there is no greater tool than using that money to "punish"/reward businesses.
mikehatesthis t1_ixxf2w3 wrote
>so they punished him (not saying unfairly or rightfully, just using an example) by denying him the ability to earn.
-LastCaress- t1_ixxf8hp wrote
K... So what about everything else I said? You missed the point entirely, which is exactly why I was hesitant to add that bit.
It was an example and far from the point of my post. Also, you don't have to down vote me for disliking the little comic you posted.
mikehatesthis t1_ixxfz5u wrote
I didn't miss your point, the point is that we don't have that much power individually as wallet voters. You can try to "cancel" someone like Louis CK but he will be back. You can demand Apple, for example, to stop using sweatshops but considering it took government action to have them change from lightning to USB-C, us being uncomfortable about it won't do much. Unfortunately.
-LastCaress- t1_ixxg947 wrote
Yes, we do. Businesses are nothing without sales. It can take time for it to really impact their bottom line, but it will.
The greater problem is that people aren't willing to go without. To be social pariahs at the expense of social clout. Who wants to go without having the things they want? Companies know this, hence marketing.
mikehatesthis t1_ixxgm0c wrote
Okay but what are my options? Let's keep using smartphones. I don't get an iPhone, then I can get a Google Pixel. Which is probably made in a similar factory, or Samsung, same deal. The only option that I'm aware of is Fairphone and those are just as expensive and may not work in my country. And most people's phones are tied to their phone provider so they don't have to pay an outright fee of $700 to $1500 minimum depending on brand and going rate in your country.
-LastCaress- t1_ixxh0kb wrote
There are options - buying the phone outright is always a possibility. Sure, it's expensive, but computers are expensive, things worth having are expensive, and positive change doesn't come easy.
Furthermore, perhaps if enough people took a stand against one company, others would see that and start acting accordingly.
What's the alternative you're suggesting? It's impossible to change them so why try? Actually curious. You may need some Franz Kafka in your life.
mikehatesthis t1_ixxiz9o wrote
It is, but again the only non-sweatshop and non-unethically sourced resources phone maker I'm aware of is Fairphone. It gets even harder when you consider how many lithium mines are mined by like child slaves and in horrible conditions.
I mean maybe but from what I've seen that can only go so far. Maybe you can push a company to stop being homophobic, like say Chick-fil-A in America, but they reserve the right to donate to more conversion therapy organizations if they want to.
I'm not suggesting anything, I just think we don't have as much power as suggested because we're all over the map. You can try social democracy and reform capitalism like parts of the EU but there it took them years just to get Apple to adopt USB-C lol. And lol I tried to read Metamorphosis for the second time a few weeks ago and I cannot get into his writing. I wish I could, it seems interesting.
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