Home / Weak arguments / Purity and invented rules
"Anyone who won't accept gradual change doesn't understand how the world works."
They create demands veganism does not make and push away people who might join, without helping a single animal.
Why it is weak
It mirrors the previous item, said by supporters of gradual change against those who call for an immediate end to exploitation. Asking people to stop now isn't naive: it states the goal clearly.
How the world changes is, again, an empirical question. Some people change gradually, others all at once, and different messages work with different audiences.
Defending gradual change as a strategy is different from saying it is the only legitimate path.
How to say it better
Separate the goal from the strategy. The goal is that no animal is exploited; the path should be chosen by the evidence, and different people can contribute in different ways.
This doesn't mean every strategy, intervention and current is equally good for animals. There may well be a better path, and it should be sought in the evidence: what makes people consider animals, how to save more animals and which interventions work best. The evidence may favor one side. That doesn't stop people from different currents becoming vegan and then revising their moral and political views in other areas, seeking an even greater overall impact.