Have there been any successful global scale boycotts?

Question

As we become more global does activism need to be far-reaching to be effective? Have we become glocal due to technology? If so, then what tools do activists use in this setting with cultural and language barriers?

Take, for example, energy. It seems, if one were to guess by what one reads online, that the majority of people around the world agree that we need to conserve fuel. And yet . . . So how then would one send a solid message to the governments and oil companies of the world? A boycott? How then would such an events be organized globally?

Answer 1

Yes boycott the oil companies. 1 Day's less of oil consumption is equal to a .002% decline in prices, which is about $0.009 (yes, not even a whole penny).

You may find this hard to believe but if you ever take a course called microeconomics, you'd learn that oil companies right now are actually doing us a favor by being what's called "allocatively efficient". In other words, they're only giving society what it wants.

If you wanted to supply America with oil at a price that you see to be fair for society, then good luck paying a 40% cooperate income tax, environmental fees, paying geologists and hard hats on the rigs, and then trying to convince other people to invest in your company. Do you really think anybody would want to share their money with you to finance a company that's not going to give them any returns?

It's the goal of the firm to maximize profits. You don't sell candy to see smiling faces on children or to give people cavities. You do it to earn money in a way that suits your fancy. Could you expect to hear a construction worker say "hey construction getting a little expensive for Americans and my labor costs too much for this company so I'll be nice and sacrifice half my pay check"?

So ask yourself, who's more evil: the people supplying society's demands or the people driving prices up because they absolutely MUST drive a gas guzzling SUV?

Answer 2

we could start with boycotting the Olympics this year. And using alternative modes of transportation. I started taking the bus 3X a week.

Answer 3

Language books and automatic translaters. FSL courses as opposed to ESL courses. The solid message could involve a simple placing of funds to buy out local power stations for use for communities and cross training in medical plus electrical enjineering skills. Governments may get the message if people were to simply run everything themselves.

Unions would also have what they need through volunteer ambulance crews or professionals trained in prosthetics in cases of severe injury. And on site workers hospitals. Sound like fantasy well it could be done. An idea built around no bosses just joint ownership.