Consumerism is part of the climate problem and perhaps more so a waste disposal problem. Consumerism probably cannot be stopped but it can be reduced. It’s disturbing in the current climate that #BlackFriday still exists. To encourage the kick-off of mass consumption a month before Christmas likely does a lot damage.
I suppose cancelling Black Friday would be impossible in the US (where I suspect it started). A large number of democrats would oppose it and probably every single republican in the US would fight to their death an anti-consumerism action like that.
But what about Europe? Doesn’t Belgium and Netherlands restrict store-wide sales to just two weeks or so out of the year? For Europe, perhaps instead of cancelling it (which many would view as over-interventionist) they could double the VAT rates on that day on clothes and electronics. IDK.. that’s probably crazy talk. Ideas welcome. There’s no real issue with sales on services, but consumption of goods is where the damage is done.
I hate the idea that one of the most environmentally reckless companies in the world (#Amazon) gets a huge boost in sales on Black Friday. It makes the day depressing to see the masses rush to enrich a company they should be boycotting all year. I loved Black Friday back in the days when I was a loose cannon consumerist myself. Now it’s just a shit day where I deliberately avoid shops in order to not support it.
UPDATE
To be clear, I would not propose cancelling the unofficial holiday US employers often give on Black Friday. Just the sales.
I guess my underlying assumption was that a dictatorship is not in play, but rather a gov elected by the people to represent them. I don’t see how the idea would come from the gov. The gov would be carrying out an idea from the people it represents.
Otherwise, what would you envision with the rejection of consumerism coming from the people? Do you mean individual actions like boycotts? I’ve been boycotting Black Friday for years but it’s not working.
I’ve also switched to a bicycle but this does nothing to get people out of cars. In fact by going to a bicycle, I made the street less crowded so car drivers are rewarded by my action. My individual actions don’t scale well enough. Nonetheless, I still take individual actions like consuming like a vegan more and more. And I hope it catches on. I hope the thread would inspire readers to boycott Black Friday. But I have little confidence it will make a dent.
EDIT: one thing I think I under-emphasized, which Europeans seem to pay attention to more than the rest of the world: Black Friday is a day off for non-retail workers. But retail workers don’t only have to work, but they also have a busy stressful and long work day while everyone else has fun. Those workers should have equal rights protections. I speak theoretically in a sense, because BF is a not a day off for anyone outside the US anyway.