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ShalmaneserIII t1_j2ucv60 wrote

Reply to comment by Rethious in Look on the dark side | We must keep the flame of pessimism burning: it is a virtue for our deeply troubled times, when crude optimism is a vice by ADefiniteDescription

> This attitude is why pessimism leads nowhere but the grave.

I have some bad news about where optimism leads, too.

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Rethious t1_j2uglbj wrote

You get to enjoy a more circuitous and fruitful route with optimism.

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monkeylogic42 t1_j2v6mlh wrote

No, that's just living in denial. The world is quite literally dying in front of us. We've lost 70% of all wildlife since 1970. There's where your fruitful optimism has gotten us.

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Rethious t1_j2vcir0 wrote

It is a fact that wildlife populations have declined. This is a problem to reckoned with, I’d argue more successfully with an optimistic attitude than a pessimistic one.

Evidence shows that people are more greedy than fearful. To convince people to combat climate change, it is more useful to appeal to what they have to gain than what they have to lose.

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monkeylogic42 t1_j2vepym wrote

So, being more greedy then fearful, the billionaire class isn't going to change the system. There isn't any immediate gratification to be had in preservation. Everyone just wants to eat that tuna, bycatch be damned.

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Rethious t1_j2vfj7r wrote

There doesn’t need to be immediate gratification. There are many ways for climate mitigation solutions to satisfy greed. You get much further selling people a solar-punk future than you do by trying to scare them. Doomsday predictions only convince people its futile to make an effort.

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