• SCB@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The average person is the reason Amazon exists, so… That’s still on the average person.

    This is what people miss in this false dichotomy. Businesses only exist because demand exists. Countries need to start passing unpopular things like Carbon Taxes to seal the deal against climate change by hitting consumer demand and raising prices

    • steltek@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Oddly enough, without changing buying habits or consumer demand, I think the Amazon truck is a superior option.

      • Instead of thousands of individual trips to the store for small things, a single vehicle delivers everything
      • Instead of many hyper-local stores packed with things that may or may not eventually be sold, only things that have been purchased are shipped and transported

      The trick, as you said, is to change consumer behavior and people balk at doing that, especially when it will cost more and income inequality hits harder than ever. Tax the rich, level the playing field, and the rest gets much easier.

    • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Be real mate. Thats not how it works.

      Suppliers create the demand.

      People werent demanding smartphones before smartphones got invented.

      Most new things are shunned by most people until they slowly gain popularity and then the demand starts to exist.

      You are stating the hypothesis of capitalism whilst ignoring the conclusion.

      • SCB@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Suppliers do not create demand lol

        Some of us were adults in 08 when lack of demand crippled the world

        • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I was 21. I remember.

          Im not saying demand doesnt fuel supply.

          Im only saying supply can create demand.

          • SCB@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Supply can create demand

            Sure, with very specialized things like highways.

            Not for most goods. In no way is that how money is spent within a company.

            • Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              I guess the example i gave of folding phones bares no weight in this discussion?

              A not very popular form of phone that very frw people asked for being created and despite minimal interest it is still gettig made. The galaxy fold 5 came out recently. And google just made a folding phone. Many other companys: Huawei, xiomi, oppo and more have made folding phones. And adverts for these devices are only just making their way to the main stream.

              Perfect example of supply genrating demand as people are talkkng about them jow, and becoming interested. Sales of folding phones are increasing steadily.

              But i guess thats just not how it works eh?

              • SCB@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Phones, and tech in general, has always been an innovation arms race. If one company starts making foldable phones, you’ll see competition join in.

                This isnt manufactured demand, it’s n industry defined by throwing gimmicks at the wall until one Is popular

                See the abject failure of the Windows phone as a classic example of an entry failing.

                Edit: came across this on my news scroll today: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/07/28/ford-embraces-hybrids-as-it-loses-billions-on-evs.html

                But why double down on hybrids just as the industry is making a big push toward pure EVs?

                “What the customer really likes is when we take a hybrid system that’s more efficient for certain duty cycles and then we add new capabilities because of the batteries,” Farley said.

    • wandermind@sopuli.xyz
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      1 year ago

      I’m not demanding products which harm the environment made using methods which harm the environment. Businesses make the choice to produce those things instead of carbon-neutral environmentally friendly products, so they are more at fault than the individual who buys the thing. It’s extremely difficult for an individual to be able to uncover the environmental implications of everything you buy and do. The only real solution is to pass laws which properly account for the harmful externalities in the production cost, such as carbon tax. That will steer both businesses and consumers towards more sustainable decisions.

      • SCB@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I also am demanding similar products, which is why capital has already shifted (and continues to shift) toward green/sustainables.

        We don’t need laws to provide for externalities of consumption in most markets. Most markets are being changed by consumer demand.

        What would be most effective is carbon pricing. Unfortunately, that is a non-starter with most voters as it essentially means price increases across the board (which would actually be more helpful during inflation, but people never see it that way)

        • Slikkie@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Yeah, I wonder how big that capital shift actually is. Most companies are greenwashing, saying products are sustainable and carbon neutral when surprise, surprise, they are not. As a consumer you can’t even trust those products. As a small example you got H&M recently pulling back they Conscious line and lying about recyling clothes that actually ended up in landfills.