“3/11/2008, 11:08am EST”
This is an excellent example of the chronic short-sightedness and selective morality of humanist-capitalism. Every day, a few powerful people (in this case, the PR/Marketing teams at Starbucks and PepsiCo) listen to the very slight pang in their respective consciences and decide they’re going to “save the world.” Of course, to the humanist, “the world” is humanity. And to the capitalist, “the world” is a market. Hence, to the humanist-capitalist, to “save the world” is to market a product composed of common resources usurped, re-labeled “private,” and directed towards the narrow interests of a few human animals. The profiteers then donate a teensy bit of the windfall to some other humanist-capitalist charity.
Never mind that the manufacturing and consumption of bottled water creates massive amounts of waste. And never mind that the humanist-capitalist assumptions comprise the very reasons why the real world needs saving. (Indeed, the humanist-capitalist assumptions comprise the very reasons why there are so many human animals who don’t have the basic resources they need to survive.) In other words, “Ethos” does much more harm than good to the world, despite its name. This is the reality of any humanist-capitalist endeavor, “charitable” or otherwise.
Hey guys, you really wanna make a difference? Stop selling bottled water, disband your corporations, and donate all your leftover assets to de-privatizing water. It’d be a start, anyway.
Never leave home without it.
