In the Guardian: Abolish internet shopping in Belgium, says leader of party in coalition
Paul Magnette, the Socialist party leader, describes e-commerce as ‘social and ecological degradation’
There are no options for commenting on this idea on the Guardian itself, so after you read it, come back here and let us know what you think.
Our household has been doing what it can to avoid online shopping, we visit our local supermarkets, hardware and downtown stores as much as possible. We are very careful during the pandemic, which we think is still on, as I am immunocompromised due to some medications I take, so masks always and hand washing on return to the house.
The items we have bought online are only things we can’t get at a store locally, an electric car charger, for example. We also support our favorite charities via online donations mostly, sometimes a check in the mail, but that’s rare these days.
I think this is a great idea and one which could have some profound impact on our local commerce. I do think that the author isn’t thinking about the local shops online presence, mostly the larger stores and, of course, Amazon. Does buying online from smaller or local merchants bring the same benefit as not shopping at the giants?