BB, I went to a talk by Thomas King a few weeks back. He's an incredible novelist and storyteller, and he spoke briefly of his stint through two election campaigns where he ran for the NDP in Guelph. He said that he always believed that telling stories was the only way to change things for the better, but he had been telling them for a long time and the changes he wanted seem impossibly far away. So he decided to run for public office. He called it the worst decision he ever made. He finished dead last (behind the Greens!) because he told people the truth, and an election is no time to be telling the truth. For a writer like Thomas King to give up writing for elected office would be a crime and detriment to Canada. So I'm not sure "effective" is the right adjective there.

I also don't think a boycott is an action by consumers. It is an action by civilians. It carries weight because there is a specific message behind it, and is supported by social consensus and agency. "We are this many and we want you to stop this, and this is what we will do until you hear us." A consumer, on the other hand, has no agency, because she is specifically anti-social, individual and without context. Think about the absurdity of me going into Starbucks, waiting in line, and then when it is my turn, telling the teenage help that their place of work is killing the poor and the planet. The "buy green" phenomenon has been gaining strength and numbers over the years, yet as a planet we produce, waste and consumer more than we ever have before. How can this be if consumers are more educated than ever, more ethically concerned than ever, and more enivornmentally savvy than ever?

Economics need to change, but we do this through concerted, motivated, social effort and action. By trying to devise ways where whole communities don't need or want a McDonald's or a Wal-Mart anywhere near them.

Now, this is not to say that decisions like GPie's to not shop at Chapters are not commendable--I read for a living and I wouldn't set foot in a Chapters to save my life. But I don't expect that Chapters will come crawling back to me some day, with platitudes in their mouths, swearing they've changed (actually, I do kind of expect that--see Starbucks' recent rebranding campaign) any more than I expect me not telling a racist joke, or laughing at a sexist comment a colleague makes will stop racism or sexism any time soon. Yet we should still strive to live principled lives based on conviction and the social good. But that strikes me as more of a personal, spiritual decision than one that will effect social change.