Is there a prevailing, contemporary, leftist view on consumer activism?
My opinion on consumer activism has always been something like “it’s good to do but it won’t organize the masses nor will it materially change anything. Its benefits to the workers is short lived at best”
In the aftermath of both Trump presidencies and other, localized uprisings or organized efforts, it always seems like there’s a period of fervor, which includes consumer activist efforts… eg, boycotts. I know they’re effective for short term efforts and for building solidarity but, a few of my friends over the weekend said something that sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole. Their basic sentiment was that they felt demoralized after the consumer boycotts of GenAi, Starbucks, Amazon, Facebook/Meta…. Etc., made them feel disheartened since it didn’t bring about material change.
I can find some sporadic, random comments and posts echoing similar sentiments, and now I’m question if consumer activism is ever a viable tactic. I don’t recall reading anything on consumer activism in any of the theory I’ve perused, so here I am posing the question to others online.
My question; is consumer-activism worth it as part of a broader revolutionary strategy? It’s something I am going to continue to do for the time being because it’s low-effort, but I’m reluctant to encourage it if others outside more coordinated and organized efforts