(2013-06-16) Lewis Minimalism Abundance

Nathan Lewis on having an Abundance mentality of Minimalism. Choose aspirations and expectations that are more worthwhile on an absolute basis than the common alternatives. Like playing squash, at a serious competitive level, instead of big-car-fondling. Then, you are never "giving up" anything. You are, instead, avoiding time-wasting activities, or life-wasting activities, which also happen to be money-wasting activities. It is like eating healthy food instead of junk food. It's something you should do anyway. The fact that the healthy food also costs a lot less than the junk food is just another plus. Why would anyone eat junk food when it is not only bad for you, but also costs more? Duh. That would be stupid. In the same way, you should avoid junk activities and junk aspirations. Which are just as common, in American life today, as junk food.

Mar'2014 redux: You can be very techno while also being very eco... You can have your smartphone and iPad in the ecotechnic future. Why not? There are other things, like modern antibiotics and the better bits of modern medicine, which we can also keep, as they are cheap and easy to produce, with little environmental consequences... Most people will live in cities (Traditional City) or towns, and will not be farmers. Today, about 2% of the U.S. population is directly involved in food production. Let's say that rises to 10%. That implies a 5x loss of efficiency -- that each food producer produces only one-fifth as much food as is normal today. Not necessarily a good thing. But, if we don't use chemical fertilizers, GMO seeds, excessive mechanization, and destructive or unsustainable irrigation, and concentrate on more local food production, maybe that's a price we can pay... The best form of transportation is Walking. At a population density of 50,000/square mile, which is about the average for central Paris (some neighborhoods exceed 100,000/sq mi), a small city of 40,000 people would fit in a circle of a radius of one-half mile. That means you could walk from the center to any point in the city in less than fifteen minutes... Of course, we can still use motorized transport where it is appropriate -- mostly for commercial vehicles, such as cargo vans and trucks, buses, and taxis... Less meat... Wild meat, not farmed... PermaCulture and other natural farming methods... Much less "stuff" -- much more "experience." (And lots of great photos as usual!)