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> A few centuries ago, it was normal for kids to have only a few toys, adults to have a few dozen books, at most, and this was typical. That stuff was "keeping
by crooked-v 2y ago
> A few centuries ago, it was normal for kids to have only a few toys, adults to have a few dozen books, at most, and this was typical.
That stuff was "keeping up with the Joneses", though. Check out the price for even a simple bedframe in the pre-industrial era. Such things may seem like 'simple' necessities to us now, but for people of the era, budgeting money and/or home-crafting time for even basics like clothes, furniture, and work tools was a major ongoing commitment.
- keiferski 2y agoMy point is more that if a person today used that past amount of stuff, they would still be "capable" of being happy. It's not the extra stuff that makes people happy today. The difference is that society has innumerable ways of pumping FOMO into your head, especially via advertising and social expectations. In other words, if a group of people today made a town where everyone had anti-FOMO/consumerist values, kids only had a few wooden toys and not 5,000 Pokemon cards, etc., I don't think the lack of money and stuff would make them less happy. This makes me think that a group like the Amish would be worth studying WRT money and happiness.
- Earw0rm 2y agoBeing autistic enough to not give a damn is kind of a superpower here.