Minimalism. What would happen?

[Vastator]

They require fulfilling agreed on terms. If you don't agree to the terms, somebody else gets the contract.

What they "require" has little effect as to who shows up...

 

[Mac-7]

Music, art, books, the beauty of the natural world the company of friends and loved ones and yes everyone has access to them for free or next to nothing

People who lack the work ethic and only want what you want can have those things now

But those of us who want more than 3 hots and a cot want more than the hippy Summer of Love has to offer

 

[BULLDOG]

What they "require" has little effect as to who shows up...

Anybody can show up. They just can't do the work or get paid if they don't agree to terms.

 

[lg325]

Due to the economic situation, I was born into I am a minimalist, or as my girlfriend once told me I am cheap. But it has served me well in hard times. People would do well to be more frugal instead of trying to'' keep up with the Joneses'' and the latest fad that marketing people say we have to have to be acceptable. Live within your means or less save the extra and treat yourself once in a while with luxury. You will enjoy the luxury more.

 

[Vastator]

Anybody can show up. They just can't do the work or get paid if they don't agree to terms.

And many are choosing not to. As a result. Standards get lowered till someone steps up to fill the bill. The "Terms" are increasingly being mandated by the prospective employee. And companies and utilities that don't agree, go without. That has far reaching consequences...

 

[BULLDOG]

And many are choosing not to. As a result. Standards get lowered till someone steps up to fill the bill. The "Terms" are increasingly being mandated by the prospective employee. And companies and utilities that don't agree, go without. That has far reaching consequences...

The terms must be agreed to by all parties.

 

[Vastator]

The terms must be agreed to by all parties.

My how profound...

 

[jotathought]

If we went to a minimalistic world .. guns and ammo would be the new gold. Leftist would be poor and the right wing would dominate

 

[Blues Man]

But then socialists would demand that you share a portion of your music, art, and company with them.

There are always going to be "haves" and "have nots", no matter how much is redistributed.

Minimalism has nothing to do with socialism.

 

[Mr Natural]

The best part of having money is the peace of mind that it brings and not the stuff you can buy with it.

 

[Blues Man]

I think a better way to phrase this is

"What if we could eliminate greed?"

Greed is the driver of most of the world's man made evils.

How about

"What if we could eliminate all religion?"

Imagine, as Lennon posed, a world without religion or the foundation of religion, greed.

The average person ravaged by the consumerist society our government and the corporations that control it have set up isn;t greedy.

They just have bought a false bill of goods that buying shit, throwing that shit away and buying more shit is the way to get ahead.

 

[Blues Man]

On average you have 70-ish years to enjoy. If it makes it more enjoyable to be wearing Nike’s and using an IPhone then have at it. If you want to live off the grid with a compost toilet, solar power, and a garden then have at it.

Another one who doesn't realize that minimalism is not the same as being a dirt farmer eking out an existence.

 

[Blues Man]

There would be a lot more poverty that is for sure.
All you have to do is look at America before run a muck consumerism.
Poverty in pre WW II America had very real poverty. Just before WW II, 40% of Americans lived in poverty.
2022 America suffered through the highest increase in people living below the poverty line in history.
But even with that - it is only 12%.
Consumerism brought America out of poverty.

Really?

I don't see how getting people to believe spending more than they make is getting them out of poverty. In fact being a few paychecks away from dead broke seems like poverty to me.

 

[Blues Man]

Sound like a hippy ... free food, free sex, free rent ...

But who hauls all the poop away? ... there's 8 billion of us moving our bowels as we type ... plus our domesticates ... yeesh ... I'd rather you pay taxes ... to be honest ...

What makes you think those services would stop?

And where did I say anything about free shit?

 

[Blues Man]

Go ahead ... are you afraid of a little hardship? ... call me when your roof is leaking and there's no money to pay a roofer ... you'll be getting wet ... how about when the roads are impassible in winter ... bad weather destroys local crops ... small pox ...

Life was really shitty in the 18th Century ... just saying ... and that's what the hippies discovered, their parents were right, it's way cooler to be rich ...

If you weren't wasting your money on buying shit to throw away you would have the money to pay a roofer.

Most people today don't have the money to pay a roofer in their checking accounts do they?

And you're not getting it. The less needless crap you have the richer you actually are.

 

[Blues Man]

Here ... we license our roofers ... so they have both liability insurance and a performance bond ... still expensive, but that's just the cost of home ownership ... we also keep snow plows available for the uplands, so the all-weather roads are clear ... and small pox is extinct in the wild today ...

Of course ... these solutions bring with them more problems ... so it's a choice ... modern society brings us $7 a pair school shoes for our children ...

Still not getting it are you?

Why do you equate spending less money on shit to being poor?

 

[Blues Man]

Yes, we need all our businesses, even the big ones to supply all the things we use every day. We just need to cut down on the greed and unfairness that is rampant

Really? We need ALL our businesses?


It's that crap you buy every day that is the biggest waste of money.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Really?

I don't see how getting people to believe spending more than they make is getting them out of poverty. In fact being a few paychecks away from dead broke seems like poverty to me.

That is another topic.
Sensible consumerism is what propelled this nation into building a massive middle class that is the envy of the western world.
But, like everything that is to do with humans, we take something good and ruin it.
Between the 1950s - 1970s Americans engaged in sensible consumerism. By the very late 70s and all through the 80s-2000s we morphed that into "debt as income" consumerism.
That is a whole other animal.

 

[Blues Man]

That is another topic.
Sensible consumerism is what propelled this nation into building a massive middle class that is the envy of the western world.
But, like everything that is to do with humans, we take something good and ruin it.
Between the 1950s - 1970s Americans engaged in sensible consumerism. By the very late 70s and all through the 80s-2000s we morphed that into "debt as income" consumerism.
That is a whole other animal.

So then the people of the 50's were actually being minimalists compared to people today

 

[Blues Man]

People who lack the work ethic and only want what you want can have those things now

But those of us who want more than 3 hots and a cot want more than the hippy Summer of Love has to offer

Minimalism has nothing to do with work ethic.

It has to to with actually keeping more of the money you make which will allow you more freedom, more time and a better more financially secure life with less effort.