Simple Living in History

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The dominant culture of industrial civilisation is highly materialistic, holding up Western-style, consumer lifestyles as the path to happiness and fulfilment. But consumer lifestyles are failing to satisfy the human craving for meaning, and they are degrading our planet in ways that are grossly unsustainable and unjust. We desperately need to explore or rediscover less materialistic, 'simpler' ways of living.

'Simple living' refers to ways of life based on notions such as frugality, sufficiency, moderation, and mindfulness. This anthology brings together twenty-six short essays discussing the most significant individuals, cultures, and movements that have embraced simple living throughout history. What did Buddha and Jesus think about simple living? What contribution did the ancient Greeks and Romans make? How do the Amish and the Quakers live? And why did Henry Thoreau leave his hometown to live in the woods?

https://www.createspace.com/4907640

Consumerism is killing the planet. When will we as a people realize that consumerism is not sustainable?

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. I think, more than even 'consumerism', what is killing the planet is 'disposability'.

I think it's possible to want to have the tools that make life easier, to be more creative, to help live in a way we feel is 'better', and still be sustainable. But that means not buying things you'll turn around and throw away in a day, a week, a year. Buying things that will last decades, a lifetime, more than a lifetime. When you buy things over and over and over, you're multiplying your impact on the planet in the worst way possible, wasting resources by simply becoming an intermediary between production and the dump.

I used to always buy 'the latest and greatest' computer, try to be on the 'leading edge' of tech, for no purpose other than to have the newest toys, even when the difference between what I needed and what I already had was nonexistent. It took me far too long to realize I needed to be more intentional and conscious about my buying patterns.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. I agree.

The hardest part of this is that too many things are not made well enough to last long. I have a coffee percolator from the 1940's. It still works, but how long do the newer coffee makers last? I have been looking for a new dehumidifier, and have found that there is no brand that will last more than a couple of years...the one I have is 20 years old. And these low prices on products that are crap mean that there is no way and no reason to fix them---they are meant to just be replaced. So even if you are willing to pay more for the things that make life easier, you will not get quality that will last. This is the one thing that makes me the angriest, because I would be willing to pay more in the beginning so that I don't spend more replacing crap over and over.

[Starboard Tack]

3. Excellent post. Beautiful! I must read this anthology.

Mindless consumerism is killing the planet, at least in terms of it's ability to sustain human life. Our obsession with convenience and so-called "comfort" has blinded us to the extent that we are suffocating ourselves in excess.
The answers are in history and the answers are also all around us, if we care to look. We take so much for granted that we have lost touch with our own senses.