Criticism
Critics argue that the ability to affect structural change is limited in ethical consumerism. Some cite the preponderance of niche markets as the actual effect of ethical consumerism, while others argue that information is limited regarding the outcomes of a given purchase, preventing consumers from making informed ethical choices. Critics have also argued that the uneven distribution of wealth prevents consumerism, ethical or otherwise, from fulfilling its democratic potential.
One recent study suggests that "Buying Green" serves as a license for unethical behavior. In their 2009 paper, "Do Green Products Make Us Better People?", the authors state the following:
In line with the halo associated with green consumerism, people act more altruistically after mere exposure to green than conventional products. However, people act less altruistically and are more likely to cheat and steal after purchasing green products as opposed to conventional products. Together, the studies show that consumption is more tightly connected to our social and ethical behaviors in directions and domains other than previously thought.
This may have implications for pollution licensing programs, for example. A polluter that buys a pollution license in effect has "bought green", which makes them more likely to engage in unethical behavior, leading to increased pollution. Without considering human psychology, such programs could aggravate the very problems they hope to solve. See Law of Unintended Consequences.
In a 2010 newspaper article, British environmental writer and activist George Monbiot described green consumerism as "a catastrophic mistake" on the grounds that "it strengthens extrinsic values" (those that "concern status and self-advancement"), thereby "making future campaigns less likely to succeed".
Read more about this topic: Ethical Consumerism
Famous quotes containing the word criticism:
“I, with other Americans, have perhaps unduly resented the stream of criticism of American life ... more particularly have I resented the sneers at Main Street. For I have known that in the cottages that lay behind the street rested the strength of our national character.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)
“To be just, that is to say, to justify its existence, criticism should be partial, passionate and political, that is to say, written from an exclusive point of view, but a point of view that opens up the widest horizons.”
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)
“As far as criticism is concerned, we don’t resent that unless it is absolutely biased, as it is in most cases.”
—John Vorster (1915–1983)