A nifty quote

[mousme]

"A big transformation for me was from consumer to citizen. Once you take out the consumer role in your life, you start to have a lot more time and passion and money to contribute as a citizen."
~Judith Levine

Yes. That.

Taken from this article. It's a tempting idea. I don't know if I could go for a year without buying books, though. I might be able to go an entire year without going to the movies. Lord knows, I think I can count on the fingers of one hand the movies I went out to see.

It makes me wonder if I could do it...

Comments

[urban-homestead.livejournal.com]

It may use electricity and be made from plastic and metals, but if it lets you make soup regularly instead of buying it, I suspect that its impact probably balances out. .

I totally agree with this comment. And I agree mostly with the second part of your comment, too, if you are talking about your own consumption and that of your friends. But people who find themselves buying "as seen on TV" stuff on a regular basis - just for an example - are in a different position. They're problem isn't how the stuff they're buying was produced, it's that they are addicted to acquisitiveness. Any resolution that forces them to re-examine what they really need to buy versus what they can live without is, in my opinion, going to benefit them psychologically and spiritually as well as economically.