Ethical consumerism

I take the point, except that, in this historical moment that we optimistically describe as ‘late capitalism’, we ARE consumers, more than we are anything else – Europe and America are predominantly on the customer side of the great conceptual shop counter that is global trade (as well as being the ones that run the shop itself, which is pretty obviously unfair). But I personally am not running the shop, I’m just buying, therefore, to choose how I consume (and, more critically, to start consuming LESS), seems like a good first step to a more fair and durable world society. It’s certainly not enough, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea. Being a member of Amnesty International isn’t ‘enough’, as far as fighting human rights, but that doesn’t mean I should let my membership expire.