

Which is more illogical, voting or buying green products? - amichail

Neither is worth spending time/money on in the sense that one person won't make a difference -- at least, if you discount network effects.<p>It's hard to imagine for example how this could be a selling point:  http://www.apple.com/mac/green-notebooks<p>So which is more illogical to you?
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nostrademons
That completely misses the point of why people vote, or buy green products, or
help the homeless, or donate to charity, or do anything civic-minded.

It's true that one person basically does not make a difference in the grand
scheme of things. However, it makes a big difference _to that person_. It's
all about identity, and self-image, and all the intangible self-esteem
thingies that you can't reduce down to rational behavior.

Same as with any branded behavior. Why do people pay $5 for Starbucks coffee
when they can make it for pennies at home? Why do they pay double for Macs
when you can get an Ubuntu machine that works nearly as well? Why do they live
in gigantic McMansions that cost a fortune to heat when they'll never use all
the rooms? It's all a way of saying "I'm cooler than you", and people will pay
a lot to be cooler than their neighbors. Personally, I think being green or
civic-minded is a lot more productive expression of your self-identity than
mindless consumerism.

Same reason that the Prius succeeded in the market while the Civic Hybrid and
various diesel cars failed. The Prius just screams "I'm cooler than you", with
the sleek body, separate brand, keyless entry, electronic transmission, on-
screen computer display, etc. If you really want to be friendly to the
environment, get a Jetta Diesel or a motorcycle or bike to work. But those
don't _announce_ that you're being friendly to the environment the same way
that driving a Prius does. (Except at Google, where biking to work is one step
cooler than driving a Prius, because everyone has a Prius.) So they fail in
the marketplace, which is all about "What can this do for me?" rather than
"What can this do for the environment?"

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amichail
Donating to charity is different because even a small donation can make a
difference to someone (e.g., keep him/her alive for a few days).

Voting/buying green products is all about showing other people that you share
their views. That's all it is. If you are independently-minded, maybe you
wouldn't want to do that.

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Tangurena
Having run for election last year [1], I'm confident that voting tends to be
more illogical of the two.

First, most people tend to vote in accordance to their philosophical world-
view. And since most people are inconsistent and illogical [2] with their
world views, then their voting will be likewise inconsistent and illogical
[3].

Second.. eh. I need to get back to work. More later if y'all want.

Notes:

1 - I came in dead last. Which I thought was still amazing because I never ran
for anything other than college clubs before. I don't begrudge the guy who did
win. If it couldn't be me, I'm glad it was him, and not the other folks who
ran.

2 - Most of the readers on this site are developers, who have a far more
consistent & logical approach to things. While I value consistency and logic,
I recognize that I am frequently far less logical and far less consistent than
I would prefer.

3 - In general, pointing out the inconsistencies in a person won't make
friends - just enemies.

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_pius
_Neither is worth spending time/money on ... at least, if you discount network
effects_

That's a lot like saying, "This thing is completely worthless and illogical .
. . at least, if you discount most of what makes it worth something and
logical."

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mshafrir
Voting

