[SageRaven]

How many rural villages in China were polluted from a nearby factory producing components of the computer you used to make this post?

Every single person posting in this thread is guilty of consuming far more resources than a majority of global inhabitants. The time and energy to even have this specific debate is mark of privilege. What's the solution? A global return to agrarian subsistence living?

I get where you are coming from, but I think the battle is already lost. The "haves" have always, intentionally or not, screwed over the "have-nots", and while it varies by degrees based on how little or much you "have", it ultimately comes down to the innate selfish nature of creatures living in a world of scarcity.

[duaneb]

Hey, I already admitted I was as guilty as the rest of this country. But how the hell do you avoid products from china? Shit's impossible. I'd much rather make china (and india) rich enough to divorce themselves from the states, it would also help us reduce dependency on people who hate us (for a pretty good reason, I think).

As for a solution? I don't know, I really don't, and I suspect it won't be addressed until it absolutely needs to (overcrowding?). But I don't think that's a valid excuse to GIVE UP and continue to be a blatantly selfish nation. I think that if everyone gave a significant portion of their paycheck to efficient charities, the world would be a much better place. It doesn't even need to be charity, most people just need a little help to bootstrap themselves: http://www.kiva.org/start

> The "haves" have always, intentionally or not, screwed over the "have-nots", and while it varies by degrees based on how little or much you "have", it ultimately comes down to the innate selfish nature of creatures living in a world of scarcity.

I totally agree, I think this is a natural phenomenon in society (if the world natural means anything). However, we can raise the standard of living for everyone, so even the have nots aren't living in hell on earth, and reduce the distance between someone who is broke and someone worth many billion.