The Individual in the System
There is an ongoing debate in the social justice universe that continually pops up when exploring opportunities for progressive change and on which level that change needs to take place. It's a tough debate, really, because while we know social justice issues to be mostly systemic, those systems are made up of individual actions and when we're looking for tangible action to take part in to help make the world a better place, systemic change can be incredibly overwhelming, but individual change is often too small to make any significant impact.
Systemic change often relies on institutions to make new policies or regulations. These top down approaches then cascade out among constituents: environmental policies come to mind as an example. A government will respond to public concern or the scientific community to change rules around carbon emissions or how waste is managed. In these examples, individuals can come together to sign petitions, gather support, even speak to policy makers to help influence their decisions. But there's very little actual action that happens at the individual level.
Individual change comes from the ground up: people making changes in their lives regarding how they interact with the world. Maybe it's a more zero waste lifestyle, or buying fair trade, or growing their food in a community garden. Skeptics will point out that this level of change isn't actually solving problems, just shaping the individual's world. Lots of people can go zero waste and there will still be a massive pollution problem.
The answer, of course, is that we need both levels of change, but that's not what I wanted to dive into today. I wanted to comment on a post made by Aja Barber, a sustainable fashion advocate who shared thoughts around the shaming of individuals, which is a common criticism when asking for individuals to change their behaviour to be more ethical.
Want to know why I stopped buying fast fashion? Because I felt ashamed of what I had unwittingly done to the planet and other people. Shame has been very effective… for me. And then I transferred that shame into action and here I am, talking to to all of you <3
[E]very time someone pulls that "don't shame people" crap, I wish I could snap my fingers and magically make them have a Freaky Friday moment with a seamstress in a not nice factory. See if they're still on it about "shaming" after a week. It's a lack of empathy y'all.
I really appreciate Barber's take on this and have run into this argument so many times in the discussion around social responsibility and personal action. It's always a conversation that gets cut short because of course I don't want to shame people. I agree that we are a product of our cultural, political, and economic systems and in many cases, these systems don't make room for us to make good and ethical choices. Want to buy local food or wear ethical clothes? You need to pay more. You need to take more time to do research and source out better purchases. When most of us are struggling, those extra dollars and that extra time can be a huge drain. And of course I recognize that different people have different needs, abilities, opportunities, number of spoons, etc. that can prohibit them from taking individual action.
But here's another things: when I ask people to make better choices, I'm not trying to shame them when they make poor ones. Sometimes I shop at the dollar store because I don't have enough money to buy local, but that doesn't mean that I need to buy EVERYTHING from a cheap big box store with an unethical supply chain. I don't need to buy fast food for every meal. I don't need to buy fast fashion (except kids underwear and socks because there's literally no other option). The more time I spend moving away from those types of purchases when I have the time and space, the better. It's about minimizing those purchases whenever possible, so when I have the time and space and funds, I can make those better purchases - or heck, just buy less!
If I know that I'm spending money in ways that are harmful to others and perpetuates systems of oppression and I don't absolutely have to spend my money in those harmful ways to have my basic needs met, I am then complicit in perpetuating those systems of oppression and I should try and stop. If I have no alternatives, well, that's just late stage capitalism and there's no shame in trying to stay alive. But the wobbly line between what I would consider essential and what's not essential is a tricky one to pin down. What's essential for me and what's essential for you are two different things, and only you can decide where that line is drawn for yourself. If there's a feeling of shame that comes from making a decision, it's likely that the decision was a poor one. And that feeling of shame? Might just be fragility.
The part of this discussion that is really hard for me is that individual action has very little positive net gains but the negative implications for continuing on business as usual is monumental. Systemic change is big and clunky and top down and authoritative. Individual change is accessible and tangible but only effective is we all work together. For me, like Aja, the shame that came from spending my money in ways that didn't align with my values was enough to trigger some serious lifestyle changes, and I don't see that as a bad thing at all. I acknowledge that not everyone is going to be able to make all same the changes at the same time, but that doesn't mean that we should abandon all hope and continue being complicit. It's time for everyone to work together to make these changes easier and more accessible for everyone.