Be a principled consumer

2 October 2023

Oct 02, 2023

If we want a better world, it is up to us to act. Criticizing others doesn’t help much. The grain of sand we drop on a sandpile may not seem important, but the sandpile will collapse when enough grains are dropped. Thus, what we do is important, even if we don’t immediately see an immediate impact.

This also applies to purchases. Why are we giving money to people and institutions we detest?

Everyone will act differently, but I think it is important to be principled, when we can, about our purchases. It will make a difference.

These are the choices I have made. To the extent possible, I:

Avoid products made in China. China is one of the worst offenders of human rights. It actively supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It regularly acts aggressively in international matters. It steals massive amounts of intellectual property. It is admittedly hard to avoid products made in China at some stores, but I just look harder and at more stores. I do not want to be funding these hostile activities of the Chinese government. Of course, we should not be discriminating against Chinese Americans. They are not responsible for the actions of the Chinese government.
Avoid supporting Catholic healthcare institutions. Catholic healthcare facilities deviate from the standard of care for treating women and girls because they are obligated to follow directives from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In addition, the Catholic Church has been actively involved in suppressing abortion rights for everyone, not just Catholics, in Florida, Michigan, New York, Ohio and other states. As someone who believes in abortion rights and birth control, I prefer not to fund institutions (or their agents) that are heavily involved in restricting these rights.
Avoid watching or supporting any companies owned by the Murdoch family, including Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. Rupert Murdoch has done enormous damage to democracy worldwide and is, in my opinion, one of the great enemies of the civilized world through his personal and business activities. I do not want to give them money or even increase their online or other digital traffic, which helps their advertisers and their reputation. Avoiding some of their shows or publications may be a sacrifice, but it’s not much.