note to self.

• things I want to research in order to understand systemic societal problems better.
• feel free to interact with the post if any of these ideas are of interest to you as well
• conversation and communal brainstorming are important
• but I am mainly doing this to get some of my own thoughts in order
• because online discussion of systemic problems tends to simplify a lot
• in ways that leave out what I feel are important concerns
• and I want to actually understand important concerns, as I develop my own views

—

• problem:
• harm (especially environmental harm) tends to be blamed on individuals
• but vast majority of harm is done by corporations. 

—

questions:

• why does a corporation do harm?
• how can it be stopped?
• how can these things be different depending on the industry?

—

example, on individual level:

• individuals can only do so much by recycling.
• far more waste and pollution is produced by (X big factory)
• but the factory produces this waste in the process of making (X) that individuals buy.
• so can individuals make more difference by not buying (X) than by recycling?
• Or is each person’s part in the problem still negligibly small on an individual level?
• is this individual choice even possible? is (X) a vital necessity?

—-

on petitioning power:

• can individuals make a difference by “calling Congress” or “petitioning for better regulations”?
• would lawmakers listen to these individual calls as much as they listen to requests (with donated money) from corporate reps?
• if such individual calls make any difference, is it actually more difference than individuals could make by recycling, reducing individual waste, or by reducing consumption of (X)?
• does this answer also depend on the specific company and product?

—

corporate level:

• does the production of (X) require this much waste and pollution?
• Is there a way to produce (X) with less harm?
• (this probably varies for different industries and different examples of X)
• if a better way is possible, why is the factory not doing this already?
• in most cases, probably because it would cost more. But by how much?
• would the improvement require them to raise the price of (X)?
• (this probably varies depending on the industry and its profit margin)
• how many individuals could afford to pay the extra cost if this happened? *

—

corporate CEO and shareholder level:

• if the company has a large profit margin and could absorb the reduction in profits, without having to pass it on to the consumer: why is it not doing that?
• is it pure greed on the part of executives who want extra money for themselves personally?
• is it because the corporation must constantly increase its profits in order to satisfy shareholders?
• if so, is there any other way to satisfy shareholders?
• (probably not; I think the whole purpose of investing is that one’s investment keeps gaining value?)
• can companies ONLY become sustainable by removing this variable and not having shareholders?
• what would happen to a company that stops having shareholders, or never has them to begin with?
• (this is where my knowledge is the most lacking, greatest need for research here)
• if the lack of shareholders would be very harmful to a company, what is the best way to mitigate that harm/ convince companies to do it anyway?

—-

*side note: individual income and purchasing power

—

• if individuals support the most harmful corporations because their products are cheaper:
• would higher minimum wage, or Universal Basic Income, help with this?
• if we increase individual income, will this increase prices of goods?
• (either via wages for a corporation’s employees actually necessitating price increases
• or by corporations using this as an excuse for price increases that are really based on desire for greater profits)
• this probably varies by the industry as well
• is it mathematically possible to have an economy in which all vital goods are affordable to all people, including all people involved in making and distributing those goods?
• if not, can government funding, or government regulation, help with this?

(that is all for now. feel free to ignore or whatever. I may be returning to this post with further problems.)

(reminder that i tag this sort of thing with #userworldproblems and also often #politics and #economy so you can block those tags if you’d rather not see it)

(am trying to be better about tagging)