Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog,
Being freed from being owned is a form of liberation with many manifestations.
The frenzied acquisition of more stuff is supposed to be an unalloyed good: good for “growth,” good for the consumer who presumably benefits from more stuff and good for governments collecting taxes on the purchase of all the stuff.
But the frenzy to acquire more stuff raises a question: do we own our stuff, or does our stuff own us? I think the answer is clear: our stuff owns us, not the other way around.
Everything we own demands its pound of flesh in one way or another: space must be found for it amid the clutter of stuff we already own, it must be programmed, recharged, maintained, dusted, moved, etc.
The only way to lighten the burden of ownership is to get rid of stuff rather than buy more stuff. The only way to stop being owned is to is get rid of the stuff that owns us.
I propose a new holiday event, Gold Sunday: this is the day everyone hauls all the stuff they “own” that is a burden to a central location and dumps it in a free-for-all. Whatever is left after the freeters have picked through the pile is carted to the recycling yard and whatever’s left after that culling is taken to the dump.
Frankly, I wouldn’t accept a new big-screen TV, vehicle, tablet computer, etc. etc. etc. at any price because I am tired of stuff owning me. I don’t want any more entertainment or computational devices, musical instruments, vehicles, clothing, kitchen appliances, or anything else for that matter, except what can be consumed with some modest enjoyment and no ill effects.
We live in a small flat and I have no room for more stuff, and I have no time for more devices or entertainment. I have too much of everything but money and time.
I don’t want to pay more auto insurance, maintenance costs, etc., nor do I want more devices to fiddle with. I am enslaved to the few I already own.
The burdens of being owned by stuff are suppressed in a consumer-driven economy and society. The glories of owning more stuff are constantly being trumpeted out of self-interest, as is the act of acquisition. Those making money off the flow of new stuff into our homes promote it as the wonder of wonders.
Since nobody makes money promoting getting rid of stuff and not replacing it with new stuff, that idea doesn’t get much media coverage.
Let’s face it, Degrowth isn’t profitable, nor does it generate taxes.
Given the dependency of our livelihoods on the constant acquisition and consumption of more stuff, it is a form of blasphemy to address the great psychological relief that results from ending the cycle of gift-giving and the replacement of stuff with more stuff.
Being freed from being owned is a form of liberation with many manifestations: in terms of work, being liberated from serving the pathologies of Corporate America and soul-deadening service to the state are liberating. In terms of politics, being freed from the crazy-making grasp of the Demopublicans’ failed ideologies is liberating. In terms of finance, being freed from the servitude of debt is liberating. In terms of the material world, being freed from having to waste time, money and energy dealing with stuff is liberating.
Liberation isn’t profitable, and more’s the pity.
This post is dead-on. People in this country go broke buying, shipping, storing, and dealing with “stuff”. A person can easily assemble a fully-furnished household for free, or almost free,with what is left on curbs and listed in the “free” column on Craig’s List, and you can be very choosy about what you take, so vast is the inventory of surplus belongings that people are trying to dispose of.
I know of several household in my own area that are spending $500 a month or more that they badly need to be saving, to store huge quantities of belongings in storage facilities, because they think they “need” stuff that they haven’t looked at in 5 years and is growing rust and mold in a storage facility. And, no matter how much I’ve pared down, I never fail to find at least one item in this place that I can easily dispense with.
We’re celebrating Festivus this year. Instead of buying each other gifts, we decided to donate $50 to the Human Fund. It will be a great Christmas.
Stuck
You’re a good man. Put me down for $50 to the Human Fund too.
Great idea, Stucky. As it is, we have a $20 spending limit and are donating to our favorite charities instead of buying stuff that none of us needs or even really wants. I will suggest that we save the gifts strictly for the kids in the clan, and donate the money for those $20 gifts. A little goes a long way when placed with a well-run charity- the Chicago Food Bank, for example, gets 4 meals out of every dollar donated. The food banks all over the country are very needy right now and can surely use the money otherwise spent on little items that will often end up in a drawer somewhere.
I knew an old guy in Boise that got divorced. He owned his own business and his home and business were located on the same property. Somehow he ended up with everything in the divorce. She got her clothes and a few personal effects but that was it. Prior to the divorce they had a magnificent home that she had remodeled and decorated with the very best. Apparently her family had an old barn on their homestead that needed to come down so she had their current home remodeled, inside and out, to use all of this weathered barn wood. It really was a nice place. Really nice! He was and still is a pretty simple guy.
After the divorce he had the house remodeled, taking down all the barn wood just to spite her. He had it sawn up into 16″ sections and burns it every winter in the fireplace. He had always hated all of the “stuff” in the house so he had a building built on the property and literally moved everything into that building. When he moved back into the house after the remodel he went to that building and grabbed his bed, some linens, a dining table and one chair along with a knife, fork, spoon, plate, coffee cup and a few pots and pans plus his old cowboy coffee pot. To this day that is about all there is in this big house. If he decides there is something he needs he just goes out to the building and brings it in. Her treasured “stuff” just sits out in that building rotting away and it drives her nuts. He seems happier than ever. I think it’s hilarious.
All man’s work is for his stomach, then, as Steinbeck said, he gets a bit of money and he starts to think of getting a woman, then all of his work is for her insatiable need for things.
Pursuant to CHS’s proposal for a Gold Sunday where everyone dumps their unwanted belongings at a central location for others to pick over, my neighborhood has a yearly swap meet every year in early spring, where you can bring unwanted furnishings, housewares, books, electronics, and other non-food goods except upholstered stuff and clothing, which are not accepted because of sanitation c& hygiene considerations. You get a ticket for 1st dibs on an item for each item you donate, then all comers get to pick what they want for free. I donate stuff, but give my tickets away, as do many others. The event is a gold mine for people just starting their own homes and for the area’s poor, because most donors are just trying to clear out their homes and don’t want to bring more stuff into them. Anything that isn’t taken, gets donated to Goodwill or Salvation Army, or to organizations that help people get on their feet after house fires, being homeless, or other catastrophic life events.