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I really can't shake the feeling that a lot of the minimalism drive is just exceptionally clever advertising that promotes consumption for a group whose income

I really can't shake the feeling that a lot of the minimalism drive is just exceptionally clever advertising that promotes consumption for a group whose income is small enough that they won't fall prey to the normal consumerism memes.

CuriouslyC 10y ago
I don't think so. While the new economic reality is probably a big driver of the current trends towards minimalism, it actually works. The hedonic treadmill is real - having more stuff doesn't permanently make you more happy. In fact, it has the opposite effect, to the degree that you have to use up valuable free time to clean/organize/maintain that stuff.
mikestew 10y ago
My conspiracy theory is that if I sell you a thing, I can sell it to you once. However, if I can get you to buy into minimalism and instead spend your money on "experiences" (the current trend, AFAICT), I can sell you experiences over and over and...
- behnamoh 10y ago
  Apple does get you into "experiencing" their products. The trick is, once you're in, you're most probably going to stay. This is clever strategy.
- coldtea 10y ago
  >However, if I can get you to buy into minimalism and instead spend your money on "experiences" (the current trend, AFAICT), I can sell you experiences over and over and... First of all, those 2 sellers are not the same companies/persons. Second, minimalists buy fewer things in general -- including not buying experiences, except if you mean something like e.g. travelling. But it's not airline companies that promote minimalism. Experience is indeed a selling point in modern markets -- but it's not targeted to minimalists, but to people who consume anyway (they now can add experiences to their consumption).
Delmania 10y ago
Here's a good critique of it: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/07/31/the-problem-with-minimalism/ http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/07/31/the-problem-with-mi... Minimalism makes the same attribution of wealth and possessions to happiness as consumerism does. The difference is that minimalists eschew possessions in favor of experiences. For them, saying they don't have a lot of possessions is the same as someone bragging about their new car and tv.
- coldtea 10y ago
  I've learned from a much wiser person this, and it has been proven super illuminating: it's not the similarities that matter between two things, it's the differences. For some things it might not hold, but it's not like everything and its inverse are basically the same just because they share a common domain (e.g. racism and anti-racism both are focused on race). It's what they get from there, and how they differ that defines their value. Applied in this case, that "Minimalism makes the same attribution of wealth and possessions to happiness as consumerism does" is irrelevant. It's whether it's a positive or a negative attribution that matters.

CuriouslyC 10y ago

I don't think so. While the new economic reality is probably a big driver of the current trends towards minimalism, it actually works. The hedonic treadmill is real - having more stuff doesn't permanently make you more happy. In fact, it has the opposite effect, to the degree that you have to use up valuable free time to clean/organize/maintain that stuff.

mikestew 10y ago

My conspiracy theory is that if I sell you a thing, I can sell it to you once. However, if I can get you to buy into minimalism and instead spend your money on "experiences" (the current trend, AFAICT), I can sell you experiences over and over and...

behnamoh 10y ago
Apple does get you into "experiencing" their products. The trick is, once you're in, you're most probably going to stay. This is clever strategy.
coldtea 10y ago
>However, if I can get you to buy into minimalism and instead spend your money on "experiences" (the current trend, AFAICT), I can sell you experiences over and over and... First of all, those 2 sellers are not the same companies/persons. Second, minimalists buy fewer things in general -- including not buying experiences, except if you mean something like e.g. travelling. But it's not airline companies that promote minimalism. Experience is indeed a selling point in modern markets -- but it's not targeted to minimalists, but to people who consume anyway (they now can add experiences to their consumption).

Delmania 10y ago

Here's a good critique of it: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/07/31/the-problem-with-minimalism/ http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/07/31/the-problem-with-mi... Minimalism makes the same attribution of wealth and possessions to happiness as consumerism does. The difference is that minimalists eschew possessions in favor of experiences. For them, saying they don't have a lot of possessions is the same as someone bragging about their new car and tv.

coldtea 10y ago
I've learned from a much wiser person this, and it has been proven super illuminating: it's not the similarities that matter between two things, it's the differences. For some things it might not hold, but it's not like everything and its inverse are basically the same just because they share a common domain (e.g. racism and anti-racism both are focused on race). It's what they get from there, and how they differ that defines their value. Applied in this case, that "Minimalism makes the same attribution of wealth and possessions to happiness as consumerism does" is irrelevant. It's whether it's a positive or a negative attribution that matters.