Re:CO2 in the atmosphere just exceeded 415ppm for the first ...
by jodrellblank on Monday May 13, 2019 @02:11PM
(#19902043)
Blaming the “companies” and “lobbyists” is such a cop-out. The companies are just giving people what they want.
It is the purpose of advertising and propaganda to tell people how to want. It's misleading at best to say "people want new cars" without considering the decades of advertising selling the dream of new cars as a form of success and high social status, as an aspirational desire, as a reward for hard work, as a kind of personal freedom and ability to go anywhere on your terms, and then sell that as desirable, etc. There's a reason Hollywood SciFi films have Audi cars as product placement, and it isn't because "people want to see a future with up-market German cars" and Hollywood is responding to that demand.
It is the purpose of advertising and propaganda to tell people how to want. It's misleading at best to say "people want new cars" without considering the decades of advertising selling the dream of new cars as a form of success and high social status, as an aspirational desire, as a reward for hard work, as a kind of personal freedom and ability to go anywhere on your terms, and then sell that as desirable, etc. There's a reason Hollywood SciFi films have Audi cars as product placement, and it isn't because "people want to see a future with up-market German cars" and Hollywood is responding to that demand.