People Aren’t Dumb, They’re Busy

I’m extremely fed up with folks in the climate movement (or any other social justice movement for that matter) who continue to harp on about how if people were just better informed about climate change, then it would suddenly no longer be an issue. As if the only thing blocking real action on climate change is just people being smarter or having better access to information. This makes it seem like the only reason climate change is happening is because people are “too stupid” to do anything about it.

While I certainly agree that misinformation is a problem, I think this perspective largely ignores any consideration for the power imbalance that exists between social classes under capitalism. Yes, more information (or more accurate information) is certainly helpful to improve our understanding of issues. But, just having access to more information alone doesn’t do anything whatsoever to change which group of people control the wealth, infrastructure, and institutions that have created and continue to perpetuate this mess.

The only way we — human society — are going to change course, is for everyday working-class people to get organized collectively, and to use our collective strength to wrestle control back from the corporations who are currently steering the “ship” (and the political leaders who enable them), and chart us towards a different, more equitable, and more sustainable course.

Most people aren’t dumb. They’re just fucking busy. We spend most of our lives working [oftentimes] meaningless jobs for someone else’s profit. Again, this comes back to systemic oppression between classes. If you want people to understand these issues better, then maybe start fighting for less of our lives to be wasted on wage-labour so that people actually have the time and space they need to understand your cause.

If anything, people need to hear less information about climate change because of the risk of succumbing to “doomer-ism,” and those of us in these movements need to do a better job of getting everyday people engaged and organized. It’s not a lack of information issue, everyday people lack any sort of genuine power or agency to change things as individuals, which is why collective organization and action is so necessary.