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While I agree that reducing your desire to consume leads to a happier life, I disagree about how you should respond to necessities. I have found that when I sp

While I agree that reducing your desire to consume leads to a happier life, I disagree about how you should respond to necessities. I have found that when I spend my money on a few high quality products, I appreciate them more, I take better care of them, and I am happier overall than buying the cheapest thing that'll work. That doesn't mean buying "luxury" items, instead it involves looking for products with thoughtful design, durability and functionality. For example, I don't buy cheap shoes, chairs or computer monitors.

kristopolous 9y ago
Everyone has a different set of things they care about. Some people won't be satisfied with say, the respectable $400 speakers at the music store, and desire the high-end (there's speakers that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars). But I don't think any of us are that way with everything. I don't, for instance, know the thread count of my pillow cover nor have I installed a custom computerized shower head in my bathroom. I also suppose, for example, there's superior version of the cutlery I have in my kitchens and the forks I've been using all these years are simply not the best. I'll likely buy one of the more expensive options at target, but I don't go to a luxury store where the options are 20 times more expensive and have monograms of wealth on them, even if I could afford them just the same. I've been to these stores, looked at the items, and then left thinking "how absurd and frivolous." I really feel that worrying about such things is a form of voluntarily enslavement. I've been very close to people with drug addiction before and I've seen how the substance controls them like a puppet. I feel the same mechanics at play with consumption goods. I'm open to buying nice things and taking care of them, but I try really hard not to value them in a way that the object controls me.

kristopolous 9y ago

Everyone has a different set of things they care about. Some people won't be satisfied with say, the respectable $400 speakers at the music store, and desire the high-end (there's speakers that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars). But I don't think any of us are that way with everything. I don't, for instance, know the thread count of my pillow cover nor have I installed a custom computerized shower head in my bathroom. I also suppose, for example, there's superior version of the cutlery I have in my kitchens and the forks I've been using all these years are simply not the best. I'll likely buy one of the more expensive options at target, but I don't go to a luxury store where the options are 20 times more expensive and have monograms of wealth on them, even if I could afford them just the same. I've been to these stores, looked at the items, and then left thinking "how absurd and frivolous." I really feel that worrying about such things is a form of voluntarily enslavement. I've been very close to people with drug addiction before and I've seen how the substance controls them like a puppet. I feel the same mechanics at play with consumption goods. I'm open to buying nice things and taking care of them, but I try really hard not to value them in a way that the object controls me.