The purpose of this newsletter is to make it clear that we have a lot more agency than we think we do. Every day we make hundreds of decisions about what we do and how we do it. The idea of three meals a day is a decision, bathing - either by shower or bath, is a decision, and the foods we do and do not eat are decisions. Not to mention transport and movement, and how we spend our time - working or otherwise.
Unless we are imprisoned, we have control over our actions. We are responsible for how we spend our time, but how many of these actions are subconscious and done as a matter of routine? Cultural ideas of what is acceptable and what is not have shaped how humans have lived for centuries. Even looking back to how we lived in the 50s, 70s and 90s, we can see how as a society we have changed how we live our lives, for better or for worse.
Obviously, many decisions are out of our hands. Money strongly restricts our choices, as well as family or caring responsibilities or any number of other factors including marginalisation. Despite these restrictions, we all still have agency over how we spend our money, time and attention. If nothing else, we all have a voice.
We take advice from the law, from politicians, authorities and experts and even our own networks about things we should and should not do. This spans from the obvious - do not kill, to the much less obvious - for example the rise of ‘Instagram face’ influencing makeup trends. The most insidious forms of social control are the ways in which we don’t realise someone else has told us what to do and how to behave. As a population, the vast majority of us live our lives in similar ways to each other. This is not inherently bad, but it can result in moderated societal behaviour where we all undertake similar behaviours and societal pressure discourages anything radically different. Of course the behaviour you consider appropriate depends on your point of view and where you get your information from.
What is expected of us has huge influence over how we behave. We look to others for social cues and we know that there is a social cost to being different. But so many of the major changes we’ve seen throughout history stemmed from someone realising their actions were contributing to an injustice. When many people realised this, collective action became transformative.
With the climate being in crisis, it is even more important to understand and acknowledge when we are acting in a way that is detrimental to the environment. This may be conscious or subconscious, but either way, it is possible to change. Across almost every element of our lives, we will have to see change, whether that is small minute alterations, or huge national transformations. Some of these decisions will be out of our hands, and some will require little or no sacrifice, but it is important that we embrace the changes that are necessary because we know the risks involved if we don’t. You don’t have to be the leader of a climate organisation, but even having a conversation with a couple of friends about how you’re quitting fast fashion could end up changing the behaviours of hundreds if the message spreads.
The western style of consumption has brought us to where we are. It might feel really hard to reconsider how we live our lives overall, but if we break it down into the many daily decisions we make, and make gradual changes, it feels much more manageable.
This week’s recommendations:
NYT does a deeper dive into corporate sustainability strategies
BBC Radio 4 explores if we can be green and rich in an episode of Beyond Today
Hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter, the recommendations and your weekend. Don’t forget to share and subscribe (if you haven’t already)!