61–70 of 178 posts
> “The ultimate minimalist is a hermit, a recluse, or a monk,” he says. “And to me, that’s not gonna change the world.” chinese historical/wuxia dramas often heavily feature taoist/buddhist “grandmasters”, who typically have (near-)superhuman abilities (from years of meditation on enlightenment, presumably). yet they’re reluctant to use those abilities because they also strive for detachment from the world and its ba…
Two ideas which often I encounter together yet I have grown to find incompatible are self reliance and minimalism. If you wish to become more self reliant i.e. more able to handle for yourself rather than through another's labor the impositions you create in the world, you will find yourself needing to masters, access and eventual own many more tools and material. My father, a man capable of building or repairing alm…
That's a point that keeps coming back in minimalist and travel communities. People brag about how little they own, and it looks perfect until you ask about the logistics of it. You quickly find out that their minimalist existence is often propped by cheap third-world labour, or by a complete lack of financial planning. They don't own any of the tooks they need to fend for themselves. In a sense, their lifestyle is on…
Two ideas which often I encounter together yet I have grown to find incompatible are self reliance and minimalism. If you wish to become more self reliant i.e. more able to handle for yourself rather than through another's labor the impositions you create in the world, you will find yourself needing to masters, access and eventual own many more tools and material. My father, a man capable of building or repairing alm…
If your possessions all have practical utility, you are already a hardcore minimalist. No one should begrudge you a well-stocked and well-used workshop. That’s not what the minimalist message is supposed to be about. It’s the stuff accumulated carelessly, just because you could. Decorative doo-dads, outfits worn once, toys from kids long since grown, furniture retained out of a sense of duty. The suburban middle-clas…
You accumulate stuff carelessly because storage cost is zero. Even old junk can be source of aluminium block for machining, steel bar for welding or copper coil for wires.
Minimalism can help you lead a more focused life. Of course it’s relevant for people who have accumulated a lot, but even poor people can hoard things.
> I caught one mention of “inequality.” Instead of digging into systemic problems like poverty or exploring ideas of wealth redistribution, the film frames having less as an individual, moral choice with no political strings or implications. Not everything has to do with politics.
> In fact, the alleged blankness of Minimalism can serve as a facade that conceals a disturbing reality. An incident that Chayka doesn’t discuss in his book demonstrates this in an extreme way. What? How this one incident is relevant in the minimalist movement?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I have noticed that people pushing minimalism...or at least the idea of "throw it away and buy it if you ever end up needing it" is a luxury that I think many people take for granted. I am inclined to disagree here and will say you're not making the full calculation. One of the biggest costs that most people have in their life is paying for a place to live (be it rent or buying and maybe paying back for that). If y…
You could be a hoarder in a tiny apartment, too. Or you could be a minimalist who prefers the mostly empty feeling of a large home filled with few things, just like web designers who place huge margins everywhere.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If your possessions all have practical utility, you are already a hardcore minimalist. No one should begrudge you a well-stocked and well-used workshop. That’s not what the minimalist message is supposed to be about. It’s the stuff accumulated carelessly, just because you could. Decorative doo-dads, outfits worn once, toys from kids long since grown, furniture retained out of a sense of duty. The suburban middle-clas…
Imagine large old shed with some rusting car wrecks around. I think that is minimalists nightmare, but reality of self reliant utilitarian guy. You accumulate stuff carelessly because storage cost is zero. Even old junk can be source of aluminium block for machining, steel bar for welding or copper coil for wires.
Not at all.
Two ideas which often I encounter together yet I have grown to find incompatible are self reliance and minimalism. If you wish to become more self reliant i.e. more able to handle for yourself rather than through another's labor the impositions you create in the world, you will find yourself needing to masters, access and eventual own many more tools and material. My father, a man capable of building or repairing alm…
I wonder if self-reliance is really incompatible with most things, not just minimalism. At some level you rely on others, whether to farm your food or forge your steel or make your antibiotics.
Minimalism is luxury. You know you could replace whatever you just threw out (which in turn is a way to declutter; mentally allocating money for a pair of pants to potentially replace the 3 pairs you're never wearing helps getting rid of those). You know you could go back to your parents after "selling everything and backpacking around the world). Instagram-minimalism additionally requires replacing and color-matchin…
No it's no, you grossly misunderstand the fundamentals of minimalism.
It's make do with whatever you have, and to be content with less, including less money, less possessions, less prestige and less of everything. It's accepting the degradation of social status.
"Going back to parents after selling everything and travelling around the world" is not a message of minimalism. Selling your mansion, forgoing your salary and title, travelling around the world in a brief suitcase with not a penny to your name even after you come back from travelling and be contented with living from day-to-day in a one bedroom flat, _that's_ minimalism.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I have noticed that people pushing minimalism...or at least the idea of "throw it away and buy it if you ever end up needing it" is a luxury that I think many people take for granted. I am inclined to disagree here and will say you're not making the full calculation. One of the biggest costs that most people have in their life is paying for a place to live (be it rent or buying and maybe paying back for that). If y…
I think this poster is generally making the argument for stocking yourself with multipurpose tools and discarding single task or infrequent task items. As a contrived example, a funnel is a tool which will come in handy in many situations. But an old baby toy will likely only come in handy when a nephew is over once per year. Heck a funnel is even a decent baby toy.
This article is an interesting book report on Longing for Less. The majority of the article is “Chayka says...” Lacking any original insight, the author wedges in an unsupported claim about minimalism requiring privilege. Now, I’m not saying it does or doesn’t. There are several good responses here to support the idea. But the article itself does a really poor job of supporting the thesis. Indeed, it seems more like…