"The [human] species will never learn to co-exist if given total freedom."

[rva_jeremy]

But, the idea that since giant, sweeping changes need to be made, so personal responsibility is a cop out, is quite twisted.

Yeah, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a cop out. In a world of overwhelming dissonance one simply cannot act on every ill at once. One does what one can. And I think there is magical charge to taking responsibility like that -- every act done out of care for the Earth and otherselves is an act of love and therefore never without substance.

That said, the way capitalism has accommodated the lifestyle of conscious consumption is a bit disturbing to me, almost as if it's a mere brand in some instances. For example, a lot of counties and cities just landfill your recycling because it's too expensive to sort. Now, does that mean you should actively not recycle? Of course not. It just means that in this massively complex, highly mediated society we live in, a passive, consumption-oriented approach can gloss over the reality. We don't want the feeling of making a difference to matter more than actually making a difference, but marketing is all about selling you a feeling. The market and purchase decisions are simply insufficient to tackle the problem.

So yes, I agree that personal responsibility is important. I just think we need to be realistic about how directly we can exercise that responsibility, and we ought to take our collective responsibility to act as a people seriously as well. Enter activism and the priority of mobilizing as a people, not as atomized consumers in a mass market, to fully exercise responsibility.