Are my christmas lights that I put on during winter also everyone else's problem because they waste energy (that I bought with my own money)? Are you going to get into my business there as well and tell me what I can and cannot spend my resources on, because you claim that they have an "impact on you and you have no interest in them"?
I am pretty sure that the best consensus the western world has come up with is that if there are any externalities, they can simply be taxed in like for example a carbon tax. But telling other people what they should and should not find valueable as if you have some sort of ultimate authority on knowing what is valueable, well, I hope you can already see what is wrong with that. Value is subjective. As in, other people have a right to decide for themselves.
> Are my christmas lights that I put on during winter also everyone else's problem because they waste energy (that I bought with my own money)?
Yes but too little to bother about. Transportation and inefficient heat management are the only common ones that matter.
> they can simply be taxed in like for example a carbon tax
On that we agree. I believe car fuel is taxed appropriately in the UK, but in general these externalities are not properly accounted for. If they were, it would be a different matter, but they’re not.
I am pretty sure that the best consensus the western world has come up with is that if there are any externalities, they can simply be taxed in like for example a carbon tax. But telling other people what they should and should not find valueable as if you have some sort of ultimate authority on knowing what is valueable, well, I hope you can already see what is wrong with that. Value is subjective. As in, other people have a right to decide for themselves.