Is the shoplifting thing also valid for piracy? I'm curious.
I’m assuming this ask is in reference to this post, so based off of that:
It is a great question about how to apply the same consistent logic about relating to capitalism to a variety of different consumer goods -- or, indeed, if you can even consistently apply the same moral standards in any capacity to an ever-shifting realm of possible relationships with it.
Admittedly, I wouldn’t necessarily apply the same logic or the same set of rules when it comes to piracy of media because for me, the promotion of the dumpster diving philosophy is grounded far far more in its environmental than economic impact. It’s hard to discuss the environmental implications of a business without discussing some of the economics of it as well, but my main motivators are almost always first and foremost: “is this the most environmentally friendly option that I have available to me?”
My goal is not to just possess the material good, but come into possession of it in the most sustainable, far-sighted method. My choices, therefore, tend to be dictated by environmental factors before they are dictated by economic ones. Sometimes my choices lead to supporting the economics I also wish to support, but sometimes they are at odds at what I might agree with economically.
Piracy of media tends to, at least for me, have greatly reduced my environmental impact in the media I consume, but it does potentially cause me not to financially support the content creators that I like a lot, and that’s a downside to it. Now that streaming is much more prevalent, I try to use legal streaming whenever I can (though there is admittedly only so many times that Fox or NBC or AMC websites can lose the stream and rebuffer before I will lose my shit and just switch) but still tend to avoid any sort of purchase of a physical piece of media (excluding books, which I almost exclusively buy used, which does rub against my desire to financially support those who I one day wish to join, so that’s its own issue).
I suspect that the goal behind most of the shoplifting blogs is less economically ‘screwing over’ large corporations through removing some of their wares and shrinking their bottom line and more ‘engaging in a risky behavior for the thrill of it’, but regardless, shoplifting overall has a worse impact on the environment than does dumpster diving, so I’d still promote the latter. Shoplifting causes shrink, which causes the company to reevaluate the stock of the store and often opt (even automatically) to refill those items that are in low supply with fresh ones from the warehouse, which likely have been manufactured in an unsustainable way in the first place. The only way to trigger these companies to produce less (and therefore do less damage) is to not remove those products from the shelves at all, and let them learn that way where the market is trending.
I hope this answers the question? In some ways, my thinking is a bit tangential to the original intent of the post, but I hope I was able to outline it in a way that makes some sense.
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