Sure, externalities should be priced somehow, and this is the core problem, but demanding or forcing people to limit consumption is wrong.
Sure, externalities should be priced somehow, and this is the core problem, but demanding or forcing people to limit consumption is wrong.
I mean, doesn't that fall out of pricing externalities sort of naturally? What's the difference if you're told all new cars cost $500k, vs being told not to buy a new car? You can't reasonably afford it either way.
Yes, prices would limit consumption of stuff that has externalities priced in, but also push producers to reduce their externalities, if they're littering the world with poisons etc. It's not $500K, but something reasonable like $5K (for cars) which reduces demand.