
More is More - pepys
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2017/05/25/consumer-society-more-is-more/
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kcorbitt
Increased productivity and production are always good for the economy. But
increased consumption is _only_ good insofar as it increases the happiness of
the consumer. This is tautologically true: if we didn't care about consumption
increasing somebody's happiness, we could easily generate arbitrary amounts of
consumption by digging and filling in ditches.

Historically, most increases in consumption have lead to higher standards of
living, so increasing consumption has been pretty well correlated with
increased happiness. But in the developed world today the median individual
has all of his or her basic needs taken care of with lots of expendable income
sloshing around to buy luxuries besides. I think this warrants taking a
critical look at the role of consumption in our individual lives. If you're
far enough up Maslow's hierarchy that your day-to-day worries are mostly
related to esteem or self-actualization, I would _highly_ encourage taking the
opportunity to look at what you're actually spending money on, and cutting out
anything that doesn't actually bring you satisfaction and is perhaps only on
the list out of habit, or to keep up appearances. By cutting those things out,
you'll have more time and cash to spend on the things that _do_ matter to you
both now and in the future. Saving money that would otherwise be spent on
something you don't care much about anyway feels really good -- give it a try!

~~~
bdamm
Housing, food and transport make up 70% of my spending. Somehow for real
meaning to come out of this exercise I feel like money needs to come out of
one of those. However these are not generally easily adjusted. I can't just
give up my automotive expenses, for example, without major and negative
impacts to my well being.

~~~
kcorbitt
> I can't just give up my automotive expenses, for example, without major and
> negative impacts to my well being.

Sure, if something you're spending money on currently does increase your
happiness, then don't cut it out! But even within the categories of essentials
you listed, different peoples' spending levels vary drastically. To your
point, my wife and I drive a 12-year-old Hyundai Elantra that I bought in good
condition for $4k on Craigslist. When I add up depreciation, gas, repairs and
insurance, it costs us about $220/mo all-in. A new mid-market SUV, under the
same analysis, might cost $600/mo. Now, I would probably enjoy a newer, nicer
bigger car some, but I certainly wouldn't enjoy it $400/mo more, especially
when I compare it to the other things I could spend that money on that I care
about more, like buying a nice new deep-learning rig (4 months of smaller-car
savings), or a cool extra $750k in retirement ($400/mo for 40 years
compounding at 6%).

The point is, decide what's most important to you, and spend your money on
_that_. For some people it will be buying a new car every 4 years, but I'm
willing to bet that if we really thought hard about our priorities for most
people it wouldn't be.

~~~
tylerjwilk00
If you enjoy this comment by kcorbitt you should read this book [1] and check
out this blog [2]. They are both enlightening on consumerism.

1] [https://www.amazon.com/Early-Retirement-Extreme-
Philosophica...](https://www.amazon.com/Early-Retirement-Extreme-
Philosophical-Independence/dp/145360121X)

2] [http://www.mrmoneymustache.com](http://www.mrmoneymustache.com)

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paganel
There's a wiki page about this phenomenon (forgot its exact name), but it's
funny, I was thinking about this very book this morning, even though I haven't
even read it, I just skimmed through it a couple of months ago. More exactly,
I was thinking about the French Situationists
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situationist_International](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situationist_International)),
which I think this book quotes at some point.

~~~
blkstormy
Hedonic treadmill?

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stuffedBelly
This reminds me of guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen's famous "How can less be more?"
interview
([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHZ48AE3TOI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHZ48AE3TOI))

