Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense

by Rory Sutherland

As I mentioned earlier, the human brain to some extent automatically assumes that there are trade-offs in any decision. If a car is more economical, its performance is assumed to be more sluggish; if a washing powder is kinder to the environment, it is assumed to be less effective. This is why promoting a product as being ‘kind to the planet’ comes at a risk – might it be easier to save the planet if we talked less about doing so? The error of the environmental movement seems to me to be assuming that it is not only necessary for people to do the right thing, but that they must do the right thing for the right reasons. My own view is more cynical, and also pragmatic: if people adopt behaviours that benefit the environment, we shouldn’t really care what their motives are.