Culture against EA?
I was born and raised in an Asian metropolitan city, historically capitalistic. I have decided to write and contest the economy-driven model in my city where people are the means to an end—a robust economy, my question is what such a goal is for then if the people put pleasure over any consideration for the people in other places who are suffering? People seem to fail to acknowledge that the world is one village, so would a government choose to assist a country in crisis even if this requires knowledge transfer or financial assistance? I see a government that puts politics above people and I cannot do anything but choose what I believe—just only few pieces of wisdom I found useful in my entire life up to this point in time. Individuals can choose to be altruistic themselves and choose a country of similar values, or will they be able to change an entire culture (mine that is collective and meat-loving)? This is a topic open for discussion- what do you think people can do in a society that is capitalist and internally collective to be altruistic? How to deal with traditions that go against EA values in your family and society?
Thanks for your clarifying question. In my city, people tend to value meat consumption—often as a culture related to god worshipping but no one ever questions why. In my city Hong Kong, waste goes to landfills and we are way behind other developed economies in measures such as recycling mainly because of a dense population. My perspective on politics go above the city onto a global level. Comparatively we are a wealthy city BUT the gap between the rich and the poor is big. In this Chinese culture, wealth accumulation is an honour that we keep wealth to ourselves, even at the expense of our fellows when it comes to business. During Chinese New Year, adults give money to children but they will never promote EA values like how to use money for global public goods. It is a culture that values individual achievement. I wonder how much time it takes to embed EA values into ours, or it is exclusive to those who were educated aboard since it is from the West. After all, EA is good in nature but may be confronted by political incentives—e.g., the conflicts between China and the West. BUT EA is not bound by countries.