You cannot vote with your wallet. Or rather, you can, but you will lose that vote. Wallet-votes always go to the people with the thickest wallets, and statistically, that is not you.
(...)
Make consumption choices that improve your life and the lives of people you love. Support your local bookstore, buy online from libro.fm and bookshop.org – not because this will break Amazon's monopoly power (for that we will need unionization, antitrust, and tax enforcement), but because when you shop at those stores, you make a difference to the lives of the people who operate those stores, who pay decent wages and don't maim their warehouse workers.
The point of the phrase "voting with your wallet" is the idea that BigCorp will notice, care, and change behavior as a result. The entire article is saying "they won't notice, care, or change...
The point of the phrase "voting with your wallet" is the idea that BigCorp will notice, care, and change behavior as a result.
The entire article is saying "they won't notice, care, or change because of you but you might want to do it anyway for your own mental health while you do other collective efforts to try to change things"
And yet, Target. Sure they’re still turning a profit, but it’s a smaller profit, and they have certainly noticed. Telling people it doesn’t matter is what makes it not matter. Much like actual...
And yet, Target. Sure they’re still turning a profit, but it’s a smaller profit, and they have certainly noticed.
Telling people it doesn’t matter is what makes it not matter. Much like actual voting. Do it anyway.
Not disagreeing with you (or agreeing with the article for that matter). I just thought I understood what the author was going for differently than the parent comment.
Not disagreeing with you (or agreeing with the article for that matter). I just thought I understood what the author was going for differently than the parent comment.
Not just for "mental health". While it doesn't really hurt BigCorp, it really helps the small businesses. I buy from small businesses, use open-source software, watch indie films, etc. first and...
Not just for "mental health". While it doesn't really hurt BigCorp, it really helps the small businesses.
I buy from small businesses, use open-source software, watch indie films, etc. first and foremost, because I like the product. Second, because I want to support the creator and encourage others, partly so they produce more, and partly so they are happier. I don't even think about the negligible impact me not using a bigger service has on their revenue; I don't care that those companies exist, I care that there aren't enough alternatives (...and downstream effects like environment pollution, but as Cory Doctorow says those requires collective action).
For example, Tildes. I doubt most users here are active to spite Reddit, people are active here because of Tildes's intrinsic value: at least I am because I like the community and sometimes find interesting links and discussions
That's how I interpreted it as well. You can and absolutely should still vote with your wallet on an individual level, however you shouldn't expect the change to be nearly as impactful as striking...
That's how I interpreted it as well. You can and absolutely should still vote with your wallet on an individual level, however you shouldn't expect the change to be nearly as impactful as striking or protesting
Yeah, I don’t expect it to have any real impact on the business, but it has an impact on me. I just don’t want to give certain companies any of my money if I can help it.
Yeah, I don’t expect it to have any real impact on the business, but it has an impact on me. I just don’t want to give certain companies any of my money if I can help it.
I think people have the misconception that "voting with your wallet" means "companies will do things I want them to do", which is not true of voting with your wallet or voting in general. That...
I think people have the misconception that "voting with your wallet" means "companies will do things I want them to do", which is not true of voting with your wallet or voting in general. That would be a dictatorship, for one, if everyone bended to your will alone.
There's plenty of examples of "voting with your wallet" changing things. But they're not always in the direction you want. Often it's not in the direction you want. That's not necessarily because of "thicker wallets", which is an easy boogie-man explanation - it's simply because it is in fact possible for you to be in the minority position.
Your vote counts, but only a tiny amount. It’s mostly other people’s votes that count. It all adds up, so you should still vote, but don’t expect much, and if you get it wrong, it’s unlikely to...
Your vote counts, but only a tiny amount. It’s mostly other people’s votes that count. It all adds up, so you should still vote, but don’t expect much, and if you get it wrong, it’s unlikely to matter.
Influencing other people’s votes is potentially far more important than your own vote, because you could affect many votes. (At least, for some people. Many of us have little influence.) Posting on social media in the usual way is unlikely to have this effect, though, because most people who post a lot are more rude than persuasive, and they’re mostly preaching to the choir.
It seems like spending money is mostly similar: it matters, but very little by itself. Your effect on a global corporation’s quarterly revenue is less than a rounding error. You aren’t even going to keep a local restaurant in business all by yourself. And it’s also true that there are other people who can spend far more than you. It still adds up, though, so it matters a little how you spend.
How you treat other people will matter to the specific people you interact with more than it will matter to the business they work for.
If you choose to boycott a product, make it count. Take a picture of what you bought instead, redact vital information, and send it to the company you are boycotting letting them that was a sale...
If you choose to boycott a product, make it count.
Take a picture of what you bought instead, redact vital information, and send it to the company you are boycotting letting them that was a sale they could have had if not for their policies.
...isn't this voting with your wallet?
The point of the phrase "voting with your wallet" is the idea that BigCorp will notice, care, and change behavior as a result.
The entire article is saying "they won't notice, care, or change because of you but you might want to do it anyway for your own mental health while you do other collective efforts to try to change things"
And yet, Target. Sure they’re still turning a profit, but it’s a smaller profit, and they have certainly noticed.
Telling people it doesn’t matter is what makes it not matter. Much like actual voting. Do it anyway.
Not disagreeing with you (or agreeing with the article for that matter). I just thought I understood what the author was going for differently than the parent comment.
I understood that, but I see how my post doesn't read that way.
Not just for "mental health". While it doesn't really hurt BigCorp, it really helps the small businesses.
I buy from small businesses, use open-source software, watch indie films, etc. first and foremost, because I like the product. Second, because I want to support the creator and encourage others, partly so they produce more, and partly so they are happier. I don't even think about the negligible impact me not using a bigger service has on their revenue; I don't care that those companies exist, I care that there aren't enough alternatives (...and downstream effects like environment pollution, but as Cory Doctorow says those requires collective action).
For example, Tildes. I doubt most users here are active to spite Reddit, people are active here because of Tildes's intrinsic value: at least I am because I like the community and sometimes find interesting links and discussions
That's how I interpreted it as well. You can and absolutely should still vote with your wallet on an individual level, however you shouldn't expect the change to be nearly as impactful as striking or protesting
Yeah, I don’t expect it to have any real impact on the business, but it has an impact on me. I just don’t want to give certain companies any of my money if I can help it.
I think people have the misconception that "voting with your wallet" means "companies will do things I want them to do", which is not true of voting with your wallet or voting in general. That would be a dictatorship, for one, if everyone bended to your will alone.
There's plenty of examples of "voting with your wallet" changing things. But they're not always in the direction you want. Often it's not in the direction you want. That's not necessarily because of "thicker wallets", which is an easy boogie-man explanation - it's simply because it is in fact possible for you to be in the minority position.
Your vote counts, but only a tiny amount. It’s mostly other people’s votes that count. It all adds up, so you should still vote, but don’t expect much, and if you get it wrong, it’s unlikely to matter.
Influencing other people’s votes is potentially far more important than your own vote, because you could affect many votes. (At least, for some people. Many of us have little influence.) Posting on social media in the usual way is unlikely to have this effect, though, because most people who post a lot are more rude than persuasive, and they’re mostly preaching to the choir.
It seems like spending money is mostly similar: it matters, but very little by itself. Your effect on a global corporation’s quarterly revenue is less than a rounding error. You aren’t even going to keep a local restaurant in business all by yourself. And it’s also true that there are other people who can spend far more than you. It still adds up, though, so it matters a little how you spend.
How you treat other people will matter to the specific people you interact with more than it will matter to the business they work for.
If you choose to boycott a product, make it count.
Take a picture of what you bought instead, redact vital information, and send it to the company you are boycotting letting them that was a sale they could have had if not for their policies.