There are lots of reasons, but I'll suggest the one that I think is more important for today. Thoreau was a minimalist, a person who believed that we could be happier with less than we can with more "SIMPLIFY! SIMPLIFY!" This is quite contrary to the way we think today where what we have often seems to be a substitute for what we are.
For what I understand, much of the problem we have today is due to credit cards, or unwillingness to delay gratification and to live within our means. I am old enough to remember life before credit cards, when the best you could do was "lay away,' where you essentially had to pay as you go. Today we have built a false prosperity based on consumption we cannot afford. Worse than that, we are being told that they way "out" of our current economic problem is --- more spending we can't afford. I don't know who this makes sense to, but I'm sure it would baffle Thoreau --- I know it baffles me.
And this is without mentioning Thoreau's emphasis on individuality ... :)
No comments:
Post a Comment