Why You Can't Boycott Amazon (and shouldn't even try)

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  • čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
  • We have the anti-trust laws that we need to stop companies like Amazon from ruling the world - we just need to enforce them. That part is up to us.
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    10] The book "Break ‘Em Up" By Zephyr Teachout

Komentáře • 339

  • @amrlynch
    @amrlynch Před 4 lety +280

    Lately I've also had the feeling that striving to be an ethical consumer (and to try to evangelize others to do the same) has had its impact overemphasized by many people in the climate and social movements. I feel like this is largely due to human psychology. Every individual wants to feel like they're having an effect and doing good in the world--"I don't buy from Amazon, I don't support xyz" is a great way to make you feel that *you* are doing the best thing for your movement. "After all, I'm only one person, what more can I do besides removing one person from Amazon's customer base?". The reality is that real change through policy (which better attacks the roots of these problems) doesn't give us the same instant gratification and self-assurance that we seek. It's a long, slow process, where progress is difficult to measure. I feel like that aspect alone fundamentally disincentivizes people from going that route, and overincentivizes the idea of living as an "ethical consumer" instead.

    • @Felix2010w
      @Felix2010w Před 4 lety +14

      The problem is that the majority of people still live in a bubble where climate change either isn't that important or is outweighed by unwillingness to give up their consumerist lifestyle.
      The best thing you can do against climate change is to stop others from consuming. That's not possible via a top-down process.
      You won't get anyone to buy less stuff by making a politician do something that increases prices/decreases consumption. Temporarily it'll work of course, but if you haven't actually convinced VOTERS that they need to give up their consumerist lifestyle, that politician will get voted out in the blink of an eye.
      Talk to people. About climate change. About consumerism. Build communities. Repair things. Help each other. Vote and get others to vote. Get involved in politics.
      Letters to politicians are woke and sound like a cool idea, but the only metric that really matters for a politician is the chance of their reelection.
      You need to remove yourself from the system as far as possible, since ethical consumption is fundamentally impossible within it. Don't "stop buying from Amazon". Just STOP BUYING. Don't buy shit you don't need immediately for survival. It's entirely possible to entertain yourself without that new PS5.

    • @Sivah_Akash
      @Sivah_Akash Před 4 lety +5

      Nicely said. Systemic change is what's needed.
      Also these corporations too have played a role in making people feel good about their individual contributions. Want to buy junk food but care for the environment? Just "recycle" the packaging! When most won't be or can't be done in most facilities.

    • @karl5874
      @karl5874 Před 4 lety +1

      Well put, insightful. I learned something

    • @ToxicTerrance
      @ToxicTerrance Před 4 lety +6

      Capitalism makes ethical consumption impossible.

    • @baumkuchen6543
      @baumkuchen6543 Před 4 lety +5

      What ? This does not make sense... How do you want to do a change through policy if at the same time you pay money to the company that is lobbying against your cause? Why not doing both ? This counts double in case of company like Amazon which exists not because they have some special services, but because people pick convenience.

  • @stevenslater4395
    @stevenslater4395 Před 2 lety +62

    To say you shouldn’t even try to boycott Amazon is just ridiculous.

  • @2l84me8
    @2l84me8 Před 2 lety +45

    Every dollar counts no matter how small. I won’t support a corrupt business.

  • @Storytime2023x
    @Storytime2023x Před 3 lety +20

    I am boycotting Amazon. Who cares if it won’t hurt them; at least I can sleep at night.

  • @leeartlee915
    @leeartlee915 Před 2 lety +22

    So what, we just give up? I’ve been fighting against Walmart for years and while I haven’t taken them down single handily, I still can’t use them in good conscience.

  • @acomatosemob
    @acomatosemob Před 4 lety +200

    I'm still going to boycott Amazon when I can, I think it's good to find alternatives if there are any to give my money to, especially locally. This doesn't stop me from also pressuring my politicians and supporting anti-Monopoly and Green candidates.

  • @saltybalty88
    @saltybalty88 Před 2 lety +13

    I buy nothing from Amazon. I never have. We can't boycott how?!

  • @Lafv
    @Lafv Před 4 lety +92

    As a hockey fan, it was definitely weird to see that Amazon names the arena in Seattle the Climate Pledge Arena... not only is that a really dumb-sounding name, but yeah, as you said, blatant greenwashing and attention-seeking. Could’ve just called it Seattle Arena and still made it an eco-friendly building.

    • @ScopeofScience
      @ScopeofScience  Před 4 lety +27

      Yeah... Theres some particularly bold level of irony in that it's an arena for artificially frozen ice, as the ice on our planet melts.

  • @lkarlton5613
    @lkarlton5613 Před 3 lety +10

    I boycott Amazon. It can be done. Quit my prime account and do not use them one bit.

  • @nigahigajr3
    @nigahigajr3 Před 4 lety +76

    WALL-E really got it right with Buy n Large.

  • @noahdacheese839
    @noahdacheese839 Před 4 lety +48

    When studying ecology, and understanding the effects of population dynamics, we studied how a catastrophic event leads to the creation of an old growth forest. The first little bit of time after a disturbance, there is the establishment and regeneration phase, that goes towards the young forest phase, and then to the mature and old growth phase. I've noticed that businesses grow under a similar structure, where they all start out like young trees, small and competitive, but as the forest settles and growth continues, the older trees are able to grow bigger and bigger, making space for new young growth limited, and by the old growth phase, there are only some very old well established trees around, but they have control over all the resources found in the earth around them, and their roots spread far and deep, making new, disturbing growth impossible. The difference is that while trees can only reach a certain size, and eventually fall, companies like amazon do not have a ceiling that limits their growth, like gravity does to a tree, and implementing one would be an uphill battle.

    • @nuklearboysymbiote
      @nuklearboysymbiote Před 3 lety +5

      A company reaches maximum size when their customer is the whole population. That's only possible if they ruin the planet themselves and then offer a ”solution” that you can buy.

  • @melanieyu894
    @melanieyu894 Před 3 lety +26

    This reminds me of "the Good Place" which is on Netflix right now, where they basically figure out that being "good" is so difficult today because of how complicated everything is. I choose to not buy from Amazon as much as I can, but even more I try to not buy anything. Reducing consumption is so important and it's great for my wallet. I buy less things so that rather than having 10 pairs of jeans, I have 4 pairs that are high quality and purchased at a higher price that's ethically made. However, I neglected that reading books and acquiring knowledge is still a type of consumption.... More to think about.

  • @OurayTheOwl
    @OurayTheOwl Před 4 lety +7

    I hate when people think you can counteract the consequences of consumerism by battling it’s side effects. This is our approach to health, economics, the environment, and it just shows how engrained this way of thinking has become.

    • @ster2600
      @ster2600 Před 4 lety +1

      Absolutely. Breaking up Amazon is a temporary and ineffective fix to a cultural, societal and systemic problem in society.

  • @aliasag4036
    @aliasag4036 Před 3 lety +8

    amazon has put my business and many others out , stop buying on amazon

  • @Melpheos1er
    @Melpheos1er Před 3 lety +9

    I have been boycotting Amazon for 7 years so obviously it's possible. I haven't ONE thing on Amazon.
    The only thing I cannot escape is using AWS because Salesforce is on it and it's part on my job so... Well...

  • @rfldss89
    @rfldss89 Před 4 lety +41

    At first I was wondering how doing business with amazon is currently unavoidable, because amazon is just an online retailer with a couple side businesses. But then you mentioned AWS and i was like " oh yeah... That..."
    And that doesn't even take into account other huge companies, that are as bad if not worse than amazon...

    • @ster2600
      @ster2600 Před 4 lety +8

      That doesn't mean you should just give up and buy stuff from Amazon anyway! Boycotting Amazon is still an important thing to do

    • @rfldss89
      @rfldss89 Před 4 lety +4

      @@ster2600 i still avoid their products as much as i feasibly can for sure, but I don't think you can call it a boycott unless your absolutist about it.

  • @912silver
    @912silver Před 4 lety +35

    Not living in the US makes boycotting Amazon somewhat manageable (if one excludes the idea of checking where the website one visits are hosted and taking that into acount...)
    But nontheless, the core message of this video is crucial :
    It is a scandal that liberal capitalists have managed to convince so much of the people who would like things to change in the world that the only way to do so is through consuming the proper products or services...
    The general distrust and disinterest of politics and more specificaly collective political action by the average person has given a freeby to people with power (be it economical or political, both being heavily entertwined).
    Democracy has been sinking everywhere for a while now, and it is not without link to the insufficient ecological action worldwide...

    • @ster2600
      @ster2600 Před 4 lety +1

      The only way to change things in the world is to convince others to act and think differently. Legislation is only ever designed to match what the status quo is in society.

    • @912silver
      @912silver Před 3 lety

      @@ster2600
      Communicating is key to forming a collective, but what is that collective to do? Only more communication?
      Except we can't convince everyone, especially those powerful people for whom changing their behaviour would mean losing their power... Not without the law... or other forms of collective force powerful enough to threaten them. Either we use the tools at our disposal in the political system... or we need to accept the fact that climate change won't be stopped... at least not without violent mobs threatening companies... if not full fledged revolutions.

  • @normalguy898
    @normalguy898 Před 3 lety +68

    The biggest lie I was told is that I should vote with my dollar and not with my voice.

    • @truptiprashantvaidya4570
      @truptiprashantvaidya4570 Před 3 lety +15

      Voting doesn't solve the issue, coz we have the same garbage in and same garbage out. The game is rigged from all sides.

    • @normalguy898
      @normalguy898 Před 3 lety +8

      @@truptiprashantvaidya4570 voting is still better than doing nothing imo, it’s not as likely to fix the system from within the system but it’s even less likely to fix the system if you don’t try to fix the system. It makes sense to me personally, but I totally understand the frustration with voting and the voting system. Not at all productive and democratic.

    • @knoxvillehill
      @knoxvillehill Před 3 lety

      Voting is for losers and peasants. i never voted and my life is great ... i work super hard but make more than a voters

    • @normalguy898
      @normalguy898 Před 3 lety +4

      @@knoxvillehill Personal anecdotes aren't evidence for the majority

    • @knoxvillehill
      @knoxvillehill Před 3 lety +1

      @@normalguy898 voting hasant benefited most voters and that's a fact. it's a 2 party system with more in common than differences.

  • @fepeerreview3150
    @fepeerreview3150 Před 3 lety +31

    Yes, yes, yes! Let's do all those things you say.
    And let's also stop buying stuff through Amazon when at all possible. I haven't bought through them for the last 2 years. I have found that what I need is always available elsewhere, often through people selling directly online themselves, through their own online stores. I've also found that there are a lot of things I can buy ... get this ... OFFLINE, in brick and mortar stores in my community.

  • @tsunamisitka
    @tsunamisitka Před 2 lety +12

    I have not used amazon for nearly 10 years and I survive, haha. It's occasionally frustrating but it isn't that difficult to purchase from local and usa made companies. I realize those companies may be in some way linked with amazon themselves. So, yeah, you're right, we need to break up these monopolies. I know this is a comment on a year old video but if you read this, did you see the new ad for amazon pharmacy? No time like the present to break up Amazon.

  • @shiraz1736
    @shiraz1736 Před 3 lety +9

    I have never bought one thing from Amazon. Even though Google and Amazon have joined forces and harass me to buy through there dodgy search algorithms.

    • @toniomiklo2406
      @toniomiklo2406 Před 3 lety +2

      My respect to you. Me too I haven't bought anything from Amazon in one year and never will again.

    • @toniomiklo2406
      @toniomiklo2406 Před 3 lety +1

      @@Mrch33ky In my country Amazon stuff isn't even cheaper than at other online stores, especially electronics, if anything more expensive. Why should I give money to Amazon, which is virtually a slave owner, engages in censorship of books not aligned with its political views, and pays practically no taxes? To have the package delivered a couple of days earlier? No thanks, I'm worth more than that.

    • @shiraz1736
      @shiraz1736 Před 3 lety

      @@Mrch33ky ?

    • @Annnabannanna
      @Annnabannanna Před 3 lety

      I typed on google “how to make a table” as I was curious. All iff a sydden, amazin ads come flooding inon youtube, table recommendations, hacksaws, machinery to make tables, sandpaper. I use amazon for hair accessories…. What has that got to do with hacksaws and tables…. The algorithm scares me.

    • @shiraz1736
      @shiraz1736 Před 3 lety

      @@Annnabannanna So true Anna , unfortunately Google has distorted and disrupted the internet’s initial intention.

  • @RockyLeQc
    @RockyLeQc Před 4 lety +9

    If Amazon would really want to help climate change, they could start to always use recyclable packaging (like boxes). I hate it when I receive these brownish bags, they are not recyclable!

  • @Kapin05
    @Kapin05 Před 3 lety +4

    I love your perspective on these problems. You've clearly invested a lot of time, research, and thought into what you say, and your ideas avoid cliché entirely, instead digging into the core of the issue at hand. Thank you for continuing to make interesting and enlightening videos!

  • @bigphilly7345
    @bigphilly7345 Před 3 lety +4

    You make great points about the futility of boycotting what are essentially oligarchies. However, there is a value in knowing not that you’re hurting the Bezos Empire but that you’re HELPING local businesses or other mega corporations. A great example are books. I buy used books from my library but also new books from dying Barnes & Noble.

  • @Adventures_For_Miles
    @Adventures_For_Miles Před 3 lety +4

    I haven’t bought from Amazon for years. Looking at all the companies they own I legitimately use non of them except maybe imdb so it Is possible to boycott it.

  • @SICresinwrks
    @SICresinwrks Před 4 lety +3

    The problem here in the states is that most politicians have big corporations in their pockets and work to benefit them over the people they should lobby for

    • @ScopeofScience
      @ScopeofScience  Před 4 lety +2

      Get people to vote for politicians that shun corporate PAC-donations.

    • @SICresinwrks
      @SICresinwrks Před 4 lety

      @@ScopeofScience 100% agree, wish there was less sheep in the United States that just do as others instead of researching and making informed decisions, espically when it comes to elections

  • @ilfiore934
    @ilfiore934 Před 3 lety +3

    Lobbying is legalized corruption. The fact that we have it, and also see it as acceptable, shows how actually primitive human society still is.

  • @roxannsnyder1351
    @roxannsnyder1351 Před 2 lety +2

    BS boycotting them will hurt the company!!

  • @6Rock6God6
    @6Rock6God6 Před 4 lety +2

    No, it is not really possible to completely boycott amazon, facebook, Google, etc. Conpletely, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go elsewhere when you can. That also doesnt stop you from contacting your representatives and stressing your concerns. We need to be doing ALL of that if we want change. We cannot use "no ethical consumption under capitalism" as an excuse to continue consuming from unethical sources. There are ethical alternatives for many many things and we need to make sure those get support.

  • @elonchan4883
    @elonchan4883 Před 4 lety +8

    Hey I really take issue with the first statement, it leaves celebrities to get more scrutinized for donating a substantial amount of money than not donating at all. and 10B is still 5-10% which is a LOT of money

    • @ScopeofScience
      @ScopeofScience  Před 4 lety +9

      That was my first feeling when I heard the argument, but I've come around to it. The article I cite in the corner and in the description makes a pretty strong case. We imagine that celebrities will just come and save us, when really they are in the top 1% that are causing the most harm, and we need to reign them in, not celebrate them when they give us tiny handouts that make them seem ethical.

    • @elonchan4883
      @elonchan4883 Před 4 lety +3

      Kurtis Baute while I absolutely agree with the resentment harboured towards the upper bourgeoisie, and they need to be reigned it (which is why I like UBI so much, the same things that have made it easy for people to become rich have increased unemployment). But it’s still wrong to judge their donations. I don’t think these donations should affect our fiscal policy, but they should still be applauded

    • @ster2600
      @ster2600 Před 4 lety +3

      @@elonchan4883 The point is they shouldn't have the money in the first place. It's like donating a kidney that you cut out of the body of a person you murdered.

  • @SimilakChild
    @SimilakChild Před 3 lety +2

    Well I don't care. until Amazon does something to stop the major scalping issues and reselling for inflated prices, I cancelled my prime subscription.

  • @colbymorris9004
    @colbymorris9004 Před 3 lety +3

    This is one issue I typically fall more left on. Big tech has gotten out of hand. I just hate when the solution is more government regulation.

  • @zippydodahquirk9039
    @zippydodahquirk9039 Před 3 lety +2

    I hate Amazon. I don't buy anything from those maniacs.

  • @asliyase
    @asliyase Před 3 lety +2

    I live in Turkey. Pressuring policymakers doesn’t work. Would love more varied suggestions. (Great video though, honestly).

    • @ghffhghhdhh3600
      @ghffhghhdhh3600 Před 3 lety

      Exactly. And he didn't even mention why we SHOULDN'T try baycott amazon. I guess thats the only we can possibly do make something about the issue right now. Politicians wouldnt help neither in a country like Turkey (obviously) nor in America ( as theri ploiticans are all kind of puppets of big coorperations).

  • @lhdhdeebdhdh
    @lhdhdeebdhdh Před 2 lety +3

    I have already closed my account I will never use them again.

  • @Busybee65
    @Busybee65 Před 3 lety +3

    You can boycott Amazon easily, use Ebay instead.

  • @crashfan11
    @crashfan11 Před 4 lety +3

    It's scary to know I'm born at the perfect time to watch the world die. Atleast that's how it feels for me. Maybe we can do something before it's to late but I feel as if we can't

    • @Talaxianer
      @Talaxianer Před 3 lety

      If it gets too hot you're always free to move to Greenland

  • @zioqqr4262
    @zioqqr4262 Před 3 lety +7

    I missed the part where you explain why we shouldnt even try

    • @BenjaminKlein96
      @BenjaminKlein96 Před 3 lety

      The whole video explains that we should boycott the system, not amazon. Go for the head, not the leg.

  • @Jjvrbrop
    @Jjvrbrop Před 2 lety +4

    This aged badly

  • @VikingTeddy
    @VikingTeddy Před 4 lety +2

    I'm so jaded and tired. I'm grateful you inject perspective in me every now and then.

  • @SocialJusticeAlchemyLive
    @SocialJusticeAlchemyLive Před 3 lety +5

    *You* might live in a democracy; I live in the US.

  • @carpediem7654
    @carpediem7654 Před 3 lety +3

    I just canceled my Amazon prime membership and deleted my account. I just boycotted Amazon lol.

    • @SharatS
      @SharatS Před 3 lety

      Netflix and Hulu? Also run on AWS.

    • @carpediem7654
      @carpediem7654 Před 3 lety

      @@SharatS I canceled both too.

  • @iwontreplybacklol7481
    @iwontreplybacklol7481 Před 3 lety +1

    Im boycotting Amazon by going Minimalist. Not only is it good for the environment, but good for my fellow Americans. When you realize how much waste and unnecessary and wasteful crap people have and discard, its just big joke.

  • @muller1030
    @muller1030 Před 3 lety +2

    Boycott Big tech. Its the way of life.

  • @stevenbaumann8692
    @stevenbaumann8692 Před 3 lety +4

    It’s been awhile bud. Thanks for this. I appreciate you fighting for climate change. Yeah. When rich people say things I just roll my eyes. Boycotting doesn’t really work anyway.

  • @tim8323
    @tim8323 Před 4 lety +7

    As a European I can easily live my life without Amazon (except for AWS), for now. And I'll continue to principally not buy anything from Amazon.

    • @daniellassander
      @daniellassander Před 4 lety

      If you dont like amazon you should really get off the internet because one hell of a lot of it is hosted by amazon web services. I mean you probably think that the majority of amazons income comes from selling stuff on the amazon website, thats not really true 54% of their income comes directly from amazon web services. Which by the way was at least in part invented by Jeff Bezos himself.
      You see Amazon had a huge problem with their old distribution system when Amazon was young, the problem was that none of their computer programs could actually talk with each other, so you always needed a lot of manpower to get information from one system into the next, this caused delays, cost money and in general gave the customers a lower quality service.
      So Jeff Bezos invested several billions of dollars into creating a system where the computer programs actually could talk to each other. That grew into Amazon Web Services, which today takes care of one hell of a lot of the infrastructure of the whole world wide web.
      So if you are against Amazon, get off the internet.

    • @tim8323
      @tim8323 Před 4 lety +2

      @@daniellassander I know this story. I find it difficult to see how much impact I would personally have. However, getting of the internet would do more harm than good. I wouldn't be able to continue my study, fill in online tax forms and other government affairs, apply for a job, or contribute to or fully take part in an increasingly digital society.
      It's too easy to say if you don't like Amazon don't use the internet.
      Besides, Amazon may make more money from AWS than their e-commerce, but they wont, by any means, be able to make money from me personally by me visiting websites using AWS than me making a single puchase from Amazon.

    • @ster2600
      @ster2600 Před 4 lety +1

      @@daniellassander You say that as if AWS has no competitors? By boycotting Amazon, you don't have to never visit websites hosted by AWS, but you just shouldn't host your own website with them. And you should tell others not to host a website with them.

  • @OzyMandias13
    @OzyMandias13 Před 3 lety +3

    Has anyone considered just eating the rich? It's genius lies in it's simplicity.

  • @lkarlton5613
    @lkarlton5613 Před 3 lety +2

    I think you chose the wrong title for this video; it should be more like ‘how to put Amazon monopoly in check’.

  • @HitMan-if2gq
    @HitMan-if2gq Před 2 lety +3

    Boycott Amazon

  • @susanne5803
    @susanne5803 Před 3 lety +2

    This year I have bought something via Amazon for the first time in my life and felt very bad about it. It was a tiny label that didn't send themselves to anyone except Amazon - I know because I emailed all local stores ...
    I hate these "big" donations. People doing that avoid much more taxes by those donations. And they interfere in what organizations actually need - because they of course want to show off a shiny project for their money.
    (Paying for the next ten years of copy paper, ink cartridges or stamped envelopes just doesn't scream "humanitarian donation" as effectively - why really? It's needed just as much!)
    I often have the feeling we lose our sense of proportion trying to save the environment. We want the perfect thing - and someone (who?) said quite rightly: "Perfect is the enemy of Good."
    - Clothes with a certain amount of mineral oil product may last much longer than pure natural fibre.
    - Very thin plastic bags correctly recycled may be more environment friendly than much heavier paper bags.
    - Selling single use plastic straws to disabled individuals may save more water than having many individual households trying to sterilize glass/ metal/ or silicone straws at least once a day.
    - Wearing leather of animals that get eaten (at least by other animals) may be more environment friendly than buying everything plastic to avoid animal products.
    - What about all those unhealthy and not environment friendly fake vegan meat products?
    - We accept that ants for example change their environment. Plants once changed the whole world! Why can't we accept that we change the environment, too - and instead aim for not leaving scorched earth behind us for too many other species.
    I have been a moderate environmentalist for more than two decades. But I find some demands of some environmentalists confusingly dogmatic and borderline religious.
    And unfortunately there's a lot of "either you're all in or you're all out" there.
    I would really like to learn much more about how to be protective of our environment in moderation, with balance and with an eye for proportion.
    Not every approach is sustainable for everyone.
    Thank you very much for a very helpful, informative video!

  • @marksgoogle4360
    @marksgoogle4360 Před 3 lety +1

    Deleted Amazon account today as Chase credit card

  • @sleastackpreacher6180
    @sleastackpreacher6180 Před 3 lety +1

    What about turning big tech into public utilities so they can be regulated?

  • @frankm.2850
    @frankm.2850 Před 3 lety +1

    To me, this is a big part of what's truly insidious about capitalism. We've become convinced that one tool in the toolbox is the ONLY tool when it's not even the most effective one when it comes down to it.

  • @bottlekruiser
    @bottlekruiser Před 4 lety +2

    There's kind of a similar situation with elections in Russia now. With reduced trust in election system, the option of boycotting voting because "it's gonna be staged anyway" is very appealing, to the point that it was considered a major strategy by the opposition. Until somebody realized they can offer candidates as well. And while meeting a lot of resistance, it even seems to work to some extent.
    Yay for people remembering they actually have tools to act, i guess

  • @lllemons
    @lllemons Před 3 lety +2

    I saw you were replying to comments that say "10 billion dollars is 10 billion dollars" with, "he hasn't donated yet". While that is a good rebuttal to this argument. What's your opinion on that argument if, someone does donate the money?
    I personally think that it doesn't matter the percentage of wealth, but I'm open to hearing, and considering other new thoughts.

  • @natelarouge7620
    @natelarouge7620 Před 3 lety +2

    You just gotta do research on the companies owned by amazon and look for alternatives.

  • @Dicen_Delirio
    @Dicen_Delirio Před 3 lety +3

    Idk, that sounds like something amazon would say

  • @eugeneemerick4359
    @eugeneemerick4359 Před 3 lety +2

    Enough of this censorship - leave them now

  • @alexandrewraggfreitas
    @alexandrewraggfreitas Před 4 lety +2

    Great video! Starting to really put the finger where it hurts. Now the next step would be to know how to change politics, knowing that in several ways politics is owned by the rich, and knowing that most of the poor just want to be like the rich! Maybe videos like these will help people look at these issues from a different perspective, with less illusions.

  • @user-oh5pn3py4p
    @user-oh5pn3py4p Před 3 lety +2

    I boycotted Amazon, its easy, just stop purchasing from them

    • @ScopeofScience
      @ScopeofScience  Před 3 lety +1

      Congrats, you didn't watch the video before commenting.

  • @phulmetal
    @phulmetal Před 2 lety +1

    I'm under the impression that what people, (especially those are drawn to powerful positions), care about is money and control. So it makes sense to me that limiting the money going towards these people will affect their decisions. I mean I know /I'd/ consider changing my habits if I was told I'd be paid less. But I'm willing to sacrifice some convenience if it would make this world better. Plus, I'm pretty sure most if not all of those websites should have alternatives?
    In saying that, contacting your congress member sounds like a good idea too.

  • @Takearisk05
    @Takearisk05 Před 3 lety +2

    I have never ever bought anything from Amazon. Don't need to...one can get everything from real small shop owners. But I don't live in USA...lol

  • @xCorvus7x
    @xCorvus7x Před 4 lety +9

    We have not forgotten what it is like to live in a democracy because to the relevant extent (i. e. democratic organisation of the economy) we* have never lived in one.
    Public control of the economy is the way out of that system which allows for this concentration of wealth and (thus) power.
    *refers at least to every one living in the so-called West, i. e. the Anglo-European sphere (except for East Germany)

  • @antontaylor4530
    @antontaylor4530 Před 4 lety +1

    I know it's not the point of the video, but when super-rich people day they will "give away" money, they don't actually have to. And they don't. If they tell you that they're giving away x cash, what they actually do is put it in a trust (that they still own), and then when there are any taxable profits, they give the tax amount to charity and claim that against tax.
    The assets are still theirs, they give away *nothing* - they just use a tax dodge to make them seem like they're being altruistic, for the PR. The reality is that the lower tier tax payers (YOU) end up having to pay the shortfall in tax this creates.
    I.e. they take money out of YOUR pocket in order to convince YOU that they're being nice.

  • @amadeobordigahitsquad
    @amadeobordigahitsquad Před 4 lety +1

    There is no ethical consumption under capitalism.

  • @Sivah_Akash
    @Sivah_Akash Před 4 lety +3

    Google Servers are at least powered renewably mostly. Amazon isn't!

  • @zabrid5942
    @zabrid5942 Před 3 lety +5

    Hey some criticism/advice that I think you could do well with: When discussing climate change you almost sound like a conspiracist (not that you are but thats how you come off), so I think that if you put some data & a higher video quality that explain your points in a way everyone will understand your videos would be viewed a lot more & even shared a lot more. Also disabling advertisements on your videos push them out of people's recommended so people don't see them. But I am also a big fan of your Vlog like videos (ei: your videos about living in a suspended tent to stop that pipeline)

  • @zefareu
    @zefareu Před 4 lety +1

    Cynicism warning -- What if American isn't really a democracy? What if comments to Legislators don't actually have any effect on their actions? What if American is ruled by political parties, who do as their donors and lobbiest intruct, and citizens are simply irrelevant? I am beginning to think all these things are true.

  • @joybreegaming8781
    @joybreegaming8781 Před 3 lety +2

    I find it sad that I had to go to the description to check for a sponsorship tag when you started talking about books because so many people do sponsorships for things they don’t actually like. I’m glad that it’s not sponsored though and I’m probably going to listen to books from there instead though I generally do more reading than listening

  • @dk4622
    @dk4622 Před 3 lety +1

    The problem is not that people are telling lies. The problem is that freedom of speech should not be stopped just because you think someone's opinion is a lie.

    • @dk4622
      @dk4622 Před 3 lety

      @Trump One a lot of people have dropped Amazon and Amazon Prime. It doesn't matter if you drop everything. Just everything that you can drop you should

    • @orome9793
      @orome9793 Před 3 lety +1

      They don't even say it's a lie. They just say it's 'dangerous' speech. That's how censorship always goes throughout history.

  • @derangedpoetess
    @derangedpoetess Před 4 lety +6

    Another excellent and clear video. Thank you!!

  • @joshua7551
    @joshua7551 Před 4 lety +5

    While I absolutely agree that American ATLs need updated to neuter companies like alphabet, I take issue with your representation of our governmental system. We do not live under a democracy and that is a major point to this argument. The representative republic has become corrupted by lobbyists and PACs. We need to update the ATLs, sure, but first we need to regulate lobbying and "robust conversations" behind closed doors.

    • @ScopeofScience
      @ScopeofScience  Před 4 lety +3

      I definitely get what you're saying about democracy is in the US being deeply flawed. In so, so many ways. I do, however, think it's still recoverable. But we need new politicians that dont take PAC money, and we need them to stand up against these corporations.

    • @joshua7551
      @joshua7551 Před 4 lety +3

      @@ScopeofScience we need more laws preventing lobbyists from railroading legislation that benefits the corporate entities and is detrimental to consumers. Our govt is practically run by alphabet, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and motor companies via lobbying. The right2repair movement has heavily exposed the deep corruption at several levels.
      We also need to delete the establishment career politicians via term limits. Our congress is so old and out of touch with the common man.

    • @joshua7551
      @joshua7551 Před 4 lety +2

      @@ScopeofScience I definitely believe we can come back from our near corporatist state. It will be difficult, but possible.

    • @error.418
      @error.418 Před 4 lety

      It's an often touted misunderstanding that the US is a republic and therefore not a democracy. It's a democratic republic where some decisions (often local) are made by direct democratic processes, while others (often federal) are made by democratically elected representatives. In both cases, we are a democracy, just of different kinds. Please stop spreading this misinformation. Contact your representatives. And push for voter reform, such as ditching First Past the Post voting methods (it mathematically always results in a two-party system, this is just a result of FPTP and why some other countries have moved to other voting methods).
      To cite some sources:
      mises.org/wire/stop-saying-were-republic-not-democracy
      www.cgpgrey.com/politics-in-the-animal-kingdom/
      To be more specific:
      The United States is a federal republic of 50 states, a federal district, five territories and several uninhabited island possessions. It is the world's oldest surviving federation. It is a federal republic and a representative democracy "in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law." The U.S. ranked 25th on the Democracy Index in 2018. On Transparency International's 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index, its public sector position deteriorated from a score of 76 in 2015 to 69 in 2019.
      To cite some tertiary sources:
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States#Government_and_politics
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index
      While a "representative republic" is not a thing, you are right that we have, especially at the federal level, a representative democracy. And that it has become spoiled by lobbyists and PACs. And that money is heavily involved in a negative way, capitalism leading politics. And I absolutely agree that we need to fix this. And that the right2repair movement is so important. And that we need to get rid of career politicians in favor of service politicians. And we need to fix our voting system. And we need to fix a lot of things.
      And to cite a snarky source:
      thebaffler.com/latest/were-a-republic-not-a-democracy-burmila
      But none of this should deter you from contacting, in fact you should be highly encouraged to contact, your representatives. We have to make a noise to operate within the system in order to help improve the system. And I think that's the big point of this video. And I hope you'll join us in doing that and more.

  • @randmgenericname5077
    @randmgenericname5077 Před 4 lety +4

    #BOYCOTTAMAZON

  • @luletuning3005
    @luletuning3005 Před 3 lety +1

    Give that money to help family owned business on not a selfish person like him. Try to work at Amazon and will understand what does mean to work like a slave and help him and his company become richer

  • @A_Legal_Immigrant_1776
    @A_Legal_Immigrant_1776 Před 3 lety +2

    Well I just did...

  • @Mykasan
    @Mykasan Před 4 lety +5

    I can boycott amazon. that's just available for me. I never go on Amazon neither on twitch and i don't know the other companies.

  • @DanielGutierrez-sy3iz
    @DanielGutierrez-sy3iz Před 3 lety +1

    I think Kurt is right and wrong. Every one has a truth they believe in. Your truth is not my truth or anyone else's. The power is in boycotting hands down.

  • @aleks4307
    @aleks4307 Před 3 lety +1

    That list is large but i still think amazon is boycottable

  • @n40tom
    @n40tom Před 4 lety +2

    I love Amazon. I'm 45/50 miles from any big box store, Mall or anything like that. So Amazon is a big deal for me. I just called my local hardware store which is 17 miles away and I asked them do you have a way to get rid of the old 18 volt batteries from my power tools. He said yeah bring them in and throw them in a dumpster . That's where I live . So much for Green , huh .

    • @ster2600
      @ster2600 Před 4 lety +2

      You shouldn't love amazon as it is destroying the planet, destroying democracy and treating its workers terribly. If you find it convenient that they bring stuff to you (as if no other company in the world offers that) then you are simply missing the point.

  • @laMoria
    @laMoria Před 4 lety +2

    Idk understand what you mean. As a French, I have a lot of small business to buy my stuff. Since I'm not into audiobooks, Idc about audible. And the only thing that interests me on amazon prime is the lotr series. I will try to snuggle my way around :)

  • @willemkossen
    @willemkossen Před 3 lety +1

    switch from goodreads to librarything.

    • @ScopeofScience
      @ScopeofScience  Před 3 lety

      Ooooohhhh I hadn't heard of them! I tried storygraph but their features are still limited. I'm signing up! :D thanks!

  • @Alice-jq6rd
    @Alice-jq6rd Před 4 lety

    the gizmodo series on “cutting out the bug 5 tech companies” is really illuminating on this topic! the journalist who does it makes it really clear how ubiquitous these companies are in our lives & how we need structural change in order to fix it

    • @ScopeofScience
      @ScopeofScience  Před 4 lety

      Fascinating, indeed! Here's the link for others: gizmodo.com/i-cut-the-big-five-tech-giants-from-my-life-it-was-hel-1831304194

  • @ThousandMask
    @ThousandMask Před 2 lety +1

    I never used amazon

  • @andrewlitvinov7266
    @andrewlitvinov7266 Před 4 lety +3

    1. 10 billion is still around 5% of his net worth, which is nothing to sneeze at, if he actually comes through with it.
    2. Giving the government more power to police private companies is not the solution, because as long as the government has a power, it will be sold to the highest bidder. It is what got us into this situation to begin with.

  • @Sivah_Akash
    @Sivah_Akash Před 4 lety +6

    I miss the street corner shops!

  • @blackpython204
    @blackpython204 Před 3 lety +1

    Well spoken and I love the way ur apartment looks 😯👌

    • @SL-nv6zv
      @SL-nv6zv Před 3 lety

      I do too....its very comfy and homey looking.

  • @Snowflake8147
    @Snowflake8147 Před 4 lety +1

    If you're looking for physical books, a great alternative to amazon is bookshop.org! And the Overdrive app gets you ebooks and audiobooks for free through your local library!

  • @adityanadgir3769
    @adityanadgir3769 Před 3 lety +1

    **Sponsored by Amazon**

  • @PanchoMarconi
    @PanchoMarconi Před 3 lety

    We can't do the job of politicians studying and auditing the infinite implications of every step we make and hoping enough people do the same. We can't judge our host or family rejecting or questioning how was the food that he serve us produced for ethical reasons. So much effort only produces division and bitterness. Its a big trap. On the other hand, at least in my country, there is no political organization to vote for. I think we are doomed, but we can must pursuit the most peace, love and pleasure and not ruining our life because some evil people.

  • @stephanieriley3716
    @stephanieriley3716 Před 3 lety +1

    ThriftBooks has great used books and I don’t think is owned by amazon. It’s not that hard to not buy but you’re right I use 34% of the internet.

  • @godigitalgirl
    @godigitalgirl Před 3 lety

    We didn't LET them, we were DECIEVED by them!

  • @aashfault1770
    @aashfault1770 Před 3 lety +2

    we Can bBoycott Amazon...

  • @emrazum
    @emrazum Před 4 lety +2

    breaking up companies is a capitalist solution to capitalist problems, all market competition inherently trends toward monopoly. Instead of constantly using anti-trust laws every couple decades, we should nationalize & democratize (cooperatize) the industries that are useful and get rid of the ones that aren't. Zephyr is sort of a market fundamentalist. Even a well-regulated market (whatever that means) is ultimately unequal, unnecessary, and unsustainable.

    • @Brillemeister
      @Brillemeister Před 3 lety +1

      In the case of an environmentally damaging quasi-monopoly like Amazon, placing the company infrastructure under state control and outlawing competition from the private sector would solve...what problem, exactly?

    • @emrazum
      @emrazum Před 3 lety +1

      @@Brillemeister Amazon is one of those industries/companies that just straight up shouldn't exist in any climate-sensible future. We need to get rid of most of it, except for maybe Amazonfresh. it might be worth rolling it into USPS so you can get food delivered for free from the gov.
      My point stands, useful things (like google or youtube) should be publicly owned & operated, and idiotic things (amazon) should be banned outright. If we're not moving past capitalism, we're never going to deal with the climate

  • @infinitygaming1253
    @infinitygaming1253 Před 3 lety

    Sooooo! Where is anyone else trying to help the climate.

  • @truptiprashantvaidya4570

    If we want to solve the climate issue which it has been going on from the past 4.5 billion years, we should have to control our consumer greed and then we can radically change the climate change issue.

  • @astaiannymph
    @astaiannymph Před 3 lety

    On the one hand, existential dread, on the other hand, more books! Thanks for the video.

  • @Noaher256
    @Noaher256 Před 3 lety

    Am I the only one who thinks Kurtis looks a bit like Steve Augeri?

  • @MoralDecay
    @MoralDecay Před 3 lety

    10 Billion dollars is 10 Billion dollars

    • @ScopeofScience
      @ScopeofScience  Před 3 lety

      Yes and it's currently 10 billion dollars that he still hasn't donated.

  • @mangeshburange6471
    @mangeshburange6471 Před 4 lety

    I think there are more important things to do right now
    Such as in developing countries
    1) segregation of waste - only handful top tier cities are successful rests piles up in landfill
    Loss of valuable compost/cng/recyclable materials
    2) promoting solar energy systems
    Thermal plant cannot be stopped due to the subsidies provided by the government, hence money-back scheme after fixed tenure by reselling to grid by solar energy can push peoples perspective over renewable energy
    2a) now that people have surplus renewable energy, people will be more willing to buy E vehicles
    But the real problem is, who is willing to take a step to make it happen?🙄, Will you join to me to make it happen?

  • @cshaps1212
    @cshaps1212 Před 4 lety +5

    Amazon needs to be broken apart