Robert Neunteufel
In Europe we hear a lot about the long lasting economic boom and the
> success in job creation in the USA.
> On the other hand we hear about the success of bestsellers like Your
> Money or Your Life or the simple living movement.
>
> I'd like to ask the members of this list how they see the interrelations
> and / or contradictions between the economic boom and the simple living
> movement.
>
Dear Robert:
A nice question. I see it as a clash of belief systems. On the one hand,
you have those who have been through the educational system and have
accepted the concept of careers, work and materalism as put forth by the
Western worldview. For most of these people, they have not questioned the
assumptions behind these beliefs and/or spent any time learning, reflecting
on mass productions, environment, resource use, or the future except as one
promising more and more. Just down the street where I live, there are
homes for sale, 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, in which two people live. For
them, in my opinion, their value system is one of showing the world a
reflection of their percieved success.
Others, in a variety of ways, thinking, personal choice, innate conservatism
(not in the political sense) hold a differned world view. In their homes,
of perhaps three bedrooms and one and one and a half bathrooms, you might
see a garden in the back instead of swimming pool. An economical car in the
driveway instead of a four wheel sports utility. They too like their
materialism and comforts, but have tempered their use by common sense.
Finally, you get antimaterialists, in truth a very small number, who ride a
bike to work, have a small wardrobe, live simply and would like to be able
to live simpler still.
Finally, to get around to your first two sentences. What we hear is what
the media want us to hear. The long lasting boom in the United States is
given many reasons, but mine is simple. Money is a coward and a large chunk
of the world has been and is going through some very rough financial times -
therefore, money has flowed to the percieved safest place - the United
States. It's like having a bunch of relatives send you their savings to use
to make more money.
When you have a surplus of money trying to make money you have a booming
economy. The media find all this so fascinating - much like stories of the
Royal Family or Lifes of the Rich and Famous - so appearances are deceiving.
Co-existing with all that media hype are millions in the US and Canada who
are reading, thinking and making small changes within their life style -
very little of this impacts the media on a consistent basis. Of course, let
us not forget the growing amounts of poor who are forced to a simpler
lifestyle by the greed of the rich.
Sort of a wandering answer,
Respectfully,
Thomas Lunde
----------
>From: Robert Neunteufel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: Futurework <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: interrelations between economic boom and simple living
>Date: Sat, Jul 10, 1999, 5:54 PM
>
> In Europe we hear a lot about the long lasting economic boom and the
> success in job creation in the USA.
> On the other hand we hear about the success of bestsellers like Your
> Money or Your Life or the simple living movement.
>
> I'd like to ask the members of this list how they see the interrelations
> and / or contradictions between the economic boom and the simple living
> movement.
>
> With best wishes from Austria / Europe,
>
> Robert Neunteufel
>
