Personal Choice vs Social Transformation

Does the fight against climate change hinge on individual making lifestyle changes or on a largescale transformation of corporations?The easy answer is both. But, those that believe that  individuals will have to make substantial lifestyle changes are often shot down as apologists for corporations. This evening I watched a video of a talk on the question of whether to have kids amid the climate crisis. The author was firmly in the corporations-must-change camp, so all personal choices,including whether to have kids, were besides the point.

This a topic I am extremely interested in. Firstly, I do believe the fight against climate change will require substantial lifestyle changes from middle and upper classes, especially in the affluent West. It is very  likely that these changes will make life substantially less comfortable, even if more fulfilling. These lifestyle changes cannot happen without a transformation of capitalism and vice versa. I don't see how anyone can divorce personal  consumption decisions from broader capitalist processes. What could be more anti-capitalistic than a personal decision to cut consumption? The question is will the middle-class climate warriors in the West be willing to make those sacrifices?

Secondly, on the topic of whether to have kids. The author dismissed all calls of population control as variations of eco-fascism, which I think is simplistic. For centuries, marriage and children have been markers of stability and adulthood across cultures. That remains overwhelmingly the case, except in middle-class green circles. To resist any attempt to challenge these norms as eco-fascism seems excessive.

And, finally, I would like it if people accepted that their positions may be compromised due to their vested interests. For isnstance, the portrayed her decision to have a child as the result of an emotional and reflective journey. Her points would have carried more weight if she was a childless woman who doesn't want children. 

Anyone who decides to have kids is making the decision in the context of their present lifestyle, which is carbon-intensive. No one can imagine what a less carbon-intensive lifestyle would entail.