So to object to a boycott on the grounds that it might negatively affect the economy... hmmm. Isn't that the function of boycotts? With regard to Buy Nothing Day (BND), I don't really know if that is a criticism of compliment. I'll think about it.
Anyway, people do have a lot of criticisms of BND most of them legit. Many people say it could affect the economy negatively (nobody buys anything), some say it wouldn't affect the economy at all (not enough people participating), and others say it will have a totally neutral effect since you would simply buy twice as much the day before in order to prepare for a day without purchasing anything.
All of these are possible outcomes, but, for me, they pretty much miss the point.
Let's face it, not shopping one day out of the year is only going to (at most) change your consumption patterns by 1/365.25 - not terribly significant for the economy in general or you.
The day, as I think of it, is simply a day to alter your habits for the sake of becoming aware of them. Or a day to make a personal statement against a system of massive consumption - appropriately on what is, for many (people in the US), the most consumptive day of the year.
Going through your day with a heightened awareness of how much you buy, how much garbage you are producing, how many products are likely made in sweatshops or what alternatives there are to shopping is very eye-opening. No, the economy will not collapse, but your previously unquestioned need to continually consume might come under scrutiny.
I agree that buying green products is a very respectable substitute to BND. But in the end it feels like stopping your car on the street to offer a jogger a ride to wherever s/he is going - it misses the point.
It is the means not the end – the process and not the effect.
Happy BND.
