Comment by teknopaul
3 hours ago
Covid proved this generalisation is not a truism.
USofA was probably the only place that actively resisted the global effort.
I think people do want a better world. Greed is not universal. Most countries that grow a middle class find most people prefer to stop work. I.e. there are not that many infinitely greedy humans. And they can be taxed.
Despite neocon economic theory, most people aren't selfish. And those that are, are often happily rewarded with a plaque in their honor or a medal.
Just look at the length Trump goes to for an award.
COVID didn’t cost anyone anything in terms of improved standard of living. Curbing emissions growth would do that.
People aren’t “greedy,” but my family in Bangladesh absolutely wants to live like my family in America, or at the very least like my family in Canada. They don’t consider that “greedy” and if you tell them it is they’ll laugh at you.
The country’s CO2 emissions per person have increased by a factor of 5x since we left in 1989, consistent with per capita GDP going up by 10x. Even on an efficient development path it’s going to go up another 5x in order to increase the country’s GDP per capita another 10x, which will put it at the level of a poor eastern european country like Hungary or Croatia. That’s the earliest anyone is even going to listen to you about CO2 reduction.
> USofA was probably the only place that actively resisted the global effort.
Really? China, Indonesia, Iran, South Korea, Italy, UK, Brazil, Tanzania, North Korea, etc.?
Making the COVID response sound like one global cooperative endeavor is some serious retcon'ing.