Post #1186234
2026-04-08 10:41 UTC
Replies (4)
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@trxxruraxvr@lemmy.world 2026-04-08 10:48
Living in a nice society is all the motivation people need. You might want to read up on the bystander effect. You do the dishes because no-one else is going to do it. But as soon as there are others who can do the job people will just stand around and let other die before they put in the effort.
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@chiliedogg@lemmy.world 2026-04-08 10:53
Sure is a good thing doing this dishes is the most complicated and least-pleasant thing people can do... Who's gonna volunteer to go through years of training specializing in commercial diving in wastewater to treatment plants for free?
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@Shellofbiomatter@lemmus.org 2026-04-08 14:56
That seems kinda too idealistic view of the world. I know much more people who, if not directly forced, would let the dishes or basically any environment around them completely mould and break down before even considering cleaning up even just the mess they have left behind, than people who altruistically do clean up after themselves and others. I do agree that living in a cleaner and nicer society should be enough of a motivation and for some it is, but there's not enough of us. We can already observe it in many public spaces where trash gets left laying around even if trash cans are available or public bathrooms or showers or my favorite example in the gym where plates get constantly left on the machines and cable attachments just piled up wherever those fell.
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@FishFace@piefed.social 2026-04-08 12:11
It sounds like you have never come across the concept of the tragedy of the commons? The particular topic of waste disposal is a good one because we have good historical accounts of the transition from a free-for-all to regulated, paid profession. Take the example of Paris, which in the 17th century was infamous for its dirt and stink. Repeated efforts to force people to keep their own streets clean failed, and ultimately residents complained that if the King wanted the streets to be clean, he had better pay for someone to come and clean them. Eventually city officials managed to force (through threat of punishment) residents to sweep waste and mud into the middle of the streets, and pay people to come through and collect and remove it. In 15th century Britain, nightmen removed waste from cess-pits and charged two shillings a ton. If there were enough people who just loved shoveling shit so much to do this without money changing hands, why weren't they out doing that?