Monday, March 25, 2024

A Means Of Expressing Anti-Consumerism

The buying of non-necessities is not in any way inevitably driven by greed, insecurity, or economic materialism and its manifestation of consumerism.  To have or not have wealth, as well as the many morally permissible things it can allow one to have, is not a matter of philosophical aptitude in rationality or moral character.  There is nothing about wanting or possessing non-necessities that necessitates the presence of greed.  Alongside this truth, it is the case that there could be much to gain in one way or another from the practice of abstaining from unnecessary purchases, particularly in a hyper-consumeristic culture.

One could for a period of time make minimal or no purchases at all beyond what it takes to obtain the likes of medicine, clothing, food, water, and shelter.  It could last two weeks, a month, or longer, and there could be allowances for up to a certain amount of spending on non-necessities--which can brighten people's lives far more than necessities alone--for part of the whole of the minimalist purchasing period.  There is not any rigid amount of time this has to last.  Similarly, there is no such thing as a Biblical obligation to engage in this at all (Deuteronomy 4:2).  It could simply be a means to experience a different kind of introspection as one concentrates on non-monetary or non-consumer aspects of life (which people can and need to already be doing aside from restraining their spending).

For someone who needs to save money for grand health, relocation, or other objectives, this has the benefit of holding onto more of their income and savings, all while expanding the latter if their is incoming money.  For someone who struggles with materialistic tendencies or desires, this could be a way to temporarily focus on that which is greater than money and the products it can buy: reason, truth (which is grounded in reason), God, morality, and other people.  For someone who simply appreciates the chance to exhibit self-control though there is not a trace of consumerism or greed in them, a time of minimalist purchasing still offers something deeply rewarding as they dwell on their empowering mastery over their financial decisions.

Whatever the motivation, this kind of restraint is an option for those who seek to not only not participate in consumeristic trends, but to more actively set themselves apart from them.  Again, there is nothing irrational or immoral (by Biblical standards, the only moral framework that is probably true) in opting to spend money on things which are not necessary for life as long as materialism, greed, or any kind of assumption or neglect of the truth is involved; it is, moreover, also true that only buying that which prolongs one's life could make that life very dull, as survival just to blindly survive, both subjectively on the level of personal fulfillment and objectively on the level of aligning with reality, is asinine.

Whether they partake in minimalist purchasing or not, people are not helpless to follow every personal impulse or conform to societal norms.  Times of minimalist spending can put these truths and their ramifications for finances at the forefront of someone's mind even if they have to fight distractions to focus on it.  Life is not about possessions, but it is instead about things that transcend both the possessions that make survival more enjoyable and the survival that enables one to enjoy the possessions.

Even when it comes necessities and things much closer to them than not (clothing is in this category, depending on the climate and other needs), "Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes," as Jesus asks (Matthew 6:25)?  One absolutely does not have to succumb to consumerism to desire and pay for many luxuries or general non-necessities.  One can also withholding spending in intervals to focus on the truths that define reality in opposition to consumerism and its less sinister counterpart, a gratuitously worry-based fixation on material concerns.  Forgoing unnecessary purchases for a time can either help a person celebrate these familiar truths or discover them for once.

No comments:

Post a Comment