Everything is a Moral Minefield
Sound advice
Chris AKA Wolfyeyes wrote a very succinct and honest post yesterday about an issue that many gamers may have encountered of late. How you can feel morally conflicted about indirectly supporting awful people and ethically bankrupt institutions, such as Ubisoft or Take two Interactive, when you buy specific video games. Chris says he faces “a standoff between my social beliefs and my desire to support the rank-and-file devs caught in the eye of the storm”. He goes on to explore the notion of “hate the artist, not the art” and concludes that the debate is not as binary as that. He concludes his post in the hope that the weight of negative exposure that has come about may force problematic game developers and publishers to change their corporate culture. However it is impossible to completely divorces one’s conscience from reality so the price of playing certain games is a sense of ongoing discomfort.
I greatly sympathise with Chris’ stance. I have found myself in a similar position recently. I chose not to buy Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint due to the unpleasant revelations about Ubisoft. However, although I understand the inherent moral conflict, I refute the glib resolution that some people extol. There is a certain type of socio-political idealist that erroneously thinks that you maintain emotional, ethical and philosophical purity by rendering all problems down to a simple binary choice. Unfortunately, that is unsustainable in reality. Because the moment you take a principled stand against one moral outrage, logically you would have to take a similar position on all others. Eventually you’d end up living in a cave, wearing a hessian loincloth, surviving on berries although you could feel morally superior as you died from a simple cut due to a lack of antibiotics.
“Hate the artist, not the art”
Virtually every aspect of western civilisation is tainted with some sort of moral conundrum or ethical blindspot due to the predatory nature of capitalism and modern political systems. The food we eat, the clothes we wear and the energy we consume are seldom produced and sustained in an ethical fashion. It is impossible to take a meaningful principled stance against all these things simultaneously. However, this dilemma is not necessarily a “gotcha” moment that undermines and mitigates all forms of protest, as some people would have you believe. It simply means we have the difficult task of trying to deal with complex problems while still being a contributory factor to those said problems. Or to put it another way, trying to wipe shit off your shoes while walking through a septic tank.
With regard to video games and the fact that many are made by unpleasant, morally repugnant businesses, consider the following. Although Ubisoft, 2K, Bobby Kotick, Randy Pitchford et al may well be an ethical minefield or absolutely awful human beings, those who work for them in the various studios around the world are not necessarily cut from the same cloth. Many are just regular folk trying to earn an honest buck in an industry that they love. Despite the so-called “glamour” of video game production, many of those who work in it are stuck on the same corporate treadmill like the rest of us are. Why punish them by not buying a game? Protesting can be far more targeted and nuanced. I’m sure shows like The Jimquisition really gets under the skin of those that Jim Sterling targets. Abusers are often ego maniacs and narcissists.
“Would you like to see a trick?” Does it involve you sodding off Randy?
It is not hypocritical to have principles and yet struggle to effectively implement them. We all live within a failed system that is certainly not a meritocracy. It has an entrenched hierarchy that hoards wealth and power, that fights tooth and nail to maintain the unjust status quo. Therefore moral purity and ethical fundamentalism are untenable and ineffective. Also anyone peddling the alleged “gotcha” that being part of the problem means it’s impossible to fix it, is being disingenuous and simply trying to shut down the date. It’s just another form of “whataboutery” which is bullshit and the province of people called Colin. You know the guy. Every office has one. He’ll argue against any point just to wind people up. In the meantime, just make targeted and meaningful protests that can deliver results. Fight battles that can be won. Social change is an ongoing war and not a blitzkrieg. And recognise that modern life means often being in a perpetual state of cognitive dissonance.
