[j_w]

I've dropped many things in the past because of issues with the company/service. Amazon Prime, every single streaming service, I've been car free for over 3 years, and there are more.

Are there some things I would struggle with if suddenly there were issues? Sure. I had to significantly increase my internet spend because of the (much) cheaper option going to complete shit. I require the internet for my career but unless the entire world collapses I doubt I'll run into any true blocker that would prevent me from using it for work.

Most people are just afraid to change their lives substantively. I am too, but I'm also willing to do it for causes I believe in.

[Eisenstein]

I think you underestimate the meaning of the word 'inconvenience'. Hot water is a convenience.

My point is that your list is one list which you are making, but someone else could look at your life and make a different list. Your argument only goes so far you can extend into your own life. If you really cared about something's place in your life, you wouldn't classify it as a convenience, so you are conveniently applying your own classifications to other people's lives, which you don't have a right to do.

This is why we have democratic institutions and authority -- to make these limits about what is tolerable and intolerable -- not what people's conveniences are.

[j_w]

Your original reply was:

> Please make a list of things you don't need so that in case of any issues with the company or system that allows access to them you will know to just stop using them.

If you didn't expect me to be introspective to MYSELF then why even bother asking? Of course my list is personal.

While it is personal, it also can apply to others. The reality is that most people are completely unwilling to inconvenience themselves.

Go without hot water? Okay, sure. I take cold showers, they are better for your skin. I wash my clothes with cold water. The only thing I use hot water for is dishes. I think that might be a bit weird, but I think dish soap is anti bacterial so it's probably not an issue? Now you can reply to this saying: "well YOU can do that but other people will feel differently." No shit. But most of the world goes without hot water so who cares.

> If you really cared about something's place in your life, you wouldn't classify it as a convenience, so you are conveniently applying your own classifications to other people's lives, which you don't have a right to do.

Most people don't actually care about TV in their life - they just have never thought for a minute to consider the reality of not having one.

> This is why we have democratic institutions and authority -- to make these limits about what is tolerable and intolerable -- not what people's conveniences are.

Not sure how this is relevant. I'm all for consumer protection. But the most apt way to protect yourself is to vote: first for politicians, and then with your wallet.

[Eisenstein]

My point is that it isn't about the individual. You can go without hot water if you like but it isn't going to solve any problems, it will just make you miserable. Going without TV isn't going to make smart TV manufacturers stop spying on people, because they don't know why you aren't buying a TV. They could conclude anything they want from you not buying a TV. The only thing that makes them stop spying on people is a law that says they can't spy on people.

That was my whole point. You are making this about personal choices when it isn't, and using it as a way to judge people who don't make the same choices you do.