Jan-Willem Bolderdijk: When doing the right thing is socially undesirable

Lecture organized by the Centre for Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) and Effective Altruism Groningen

Many consumers wish to minimize the social and environmental harm associated with their consumption decisions. Yet sustainable innovations often fail to reach a ‘tipping point’ – a critical mass of consumers. Why?
Any innovation initially fights an upstream battle, as it defies existing customs and traditions. I propose an additional hurdle exacerbating the difficult introduction stage of sustainable and other morally-charged innovations: interested consumers may be reluctant to act on their principles, knowing this can be mistaken for negative judgment of other consumers who seem to be less concerned. Importantly, this tendency ...(continue reading...)