By Abigail Isherwood
“Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want.” - Anna Lappe
This quote occasionally pops up on social media with the intention of inspiring us. But recently, some members of the climate activism community have been highlighting how it overly emphasises the individual, thus shifting responsibility and blame away from the world’s largest businesses and companies. Blame often emerges when talking about responsibility, and we sometimes think of them as the same. But trying to figure out where blame lies, as well as where responsibility lies, is a huge and complex discussion. On a personal level, adding the narrative of blame into discussions of climate action can be quite paralysing, so, instead of empowering us to act, we will often switch off, or at worst get defensive.
There is a debate in the literature between two powerhouse women, Iris Marion Young and Martha Nussbaum, about responsibility and blame. Young argues that blame is unhelpful when talking about responsibility for structural injustices. She thinks blame focuses on individual countries, people, or businesses, instead of looking at the whole structure. Blame, she argues, makes people defensive, which is an unhelpful and counterproductive response when trying to tackle the injustice. Nussbaum however thinks differently. She believes that if we use blame well, it can be a strong motivator and can lead us to important and sincere self-reflection. For Nussbaum, blame can be a powerful and useful tool for inspiring important and necessary action. The key takeaway here is that both Young and Nussbaum are seeking ways to inspire action in the face of structural injustice, i.e. action inspiring responsibility.
Perhaps the answer to how we can best use our responsibility for the climate crisis is to embrace it when it empowers us and ignore that which leaves us feeling paralysed. Some of us may find the emphasis on individual spending habits empowering and action-inspiring. Others may be skeptical and would prefer to use their energy to hold large corporations to account. Some will find talking about blame paralysing, whereas others may find it a powerful driving force. Using our responsibility well could just be about discovering what we, as individuals, find action inspiring.
Or maybe we can change that.
So, if we feel paralysed, we could feel all that fear, grief, hopelessness, or numbness, but then take the time to reflect, learn, meditate, connect with others, cry, do whatever it is we need to do, and eventually turn that paralysis into action. We can be intentional, we can be reflective, we can build support networks and communities that help us transform our fear and numbness into action. So that whether we find ourselves feeling empowered or paralysed, both instances lead to an opportunity to do something about it. It’s not a case of embracing the empowering and discarding the paralysing, but instead figuring out how to do our best in both situations.
So whether we feel blamed, inspired, paralysed, or empowered, let’s embrace the opportunity that the responsibility for the climate crisis offers. Let's be intentional in our reaction to responsibility, and start viewing responsibility as an invitation to act.
Abigail Isherwood
Read more articles by Abigail Isherwood
THE ECONOMY OF NOT ENOUGH: HOW OVERCONSUMPTION THREATENS OUR SELF-WORTH.
Further Reading
Nussbaum, M. (2009). ‘Iris Young’s last thoughts on responsibility for global justice’, in Ferguson A. and Nagel, M. (eds) Dancing with Iris: The Philosophy of Iris Marion Young. New York; Oxford University Press, 133-145.
Young, I. (2006a). Responsibility and global justice: a social connection model. Social Philosophy and Policy. Cambridge University Press, 23 (1), 102-130.