Many people wonder how to counter the matrix we all find ourselves in.
More and more have given up the illusion that voting for this or that candidate within the structure will change anything, others have focussed on activism tirelessly for years and decades to call attention to issues dear to their hearts, and many have started to despair over the seeming giant that is the system and it's apparent inconquerability.
And maybe it's essential that people who want to improve the world find out through experience that the grand scale can rarely be changed by the individual. If you are curious about the reasoning behind such ideas you may want to read up on "Why things Can't Be different" even if at first it may sound bleak. It's probably not what you first assumed it means...
Anyways, one of the things I have found really useful in this pursuit is aiming for incremental immediate changes in our day-to-day life, rather than trying to change anything grand on the spot outside of our sphere of influence. Tiny little steps. If we all did our part in our immediate surroundings we can surely affect the trend as a whole. Like a fractal. The whole is reflected in the minute, the vast is built from the tiny.
So what then is it we can do?
Stop feeding the machine - plain and simple. In all the ways we can think of.
One of my favorite ways is to stop generating so much demand all the time. As we all learned in school demand drives production. Even though I see it a little differently today it's still true enough for us to make a good approach. After all, what we buy and consume will be gone off the shelves and will have to be rebought by the store, ordered at the factory or manufacturer.
When I started to think about my purchases that way I was amazed to see how many things I really don't need to buy as "new" but can instead either make myself or get second-hand.
Some electronics are perfect for it, as you often get a good deal, especially with universally available products like - say - dj equipment, instruments, computers. You can always find a good offer by someone who took good care of his equipment and you - in addition to saving cash - will not generate any new order in said factory.
The same train of thought can be applied to food. Naturally, producing your own food is a great idea regardless of how you do it, but you could also simply aim to buy less supermarket veggies and instead go dumpster diving. Yes it's still the same stuff, shipped around half the Earth, geared for shelf-life more than for taste BUT: Taking dumpster veggies does not generate new demand for them. There is also quite the revelation to be had once you have a great dumpster diving round and realize you are now pulling home a lore of food that you would have paid a good 50 dollars for less than an hour ago when the supermarket was still open.
Another great idea is to start getting some skills in repairing things and getting some competency on basic electronics. Often when an older piece of equipment fails it can easily be fixed by welding some wires back together or swapping a single piece, rather than having to rebuy the whole thing. If not you could still buy second-hand.
Some classes of items have gone out of fashion so much that you get a lot of them for next to nothing. You can buy mp3 players today for 1 dollar and up because so many people have started using their phones for the job. But this means you can get a little used, dedicated 16 gb player with its own battery basically for free. Use an online auction portal and just bid on things - a great option if you have some patience for getting what you are after.
Same with phones in general. Where some people are so hellbent on always getting the best new model, you can easily get a slightly older one for very little money. There are that many phones on the second hand market available that it's quite questionable whether anyone reasonable would actually buy a new phone voluntarily. Again patience is key: you will find the phone maniac who basically used his phone for a week before he got the better one for his birthday and whose mom is simply putting his old stuff up for auction without caring much for what is paid.
The more we look around the more examples we can find for replacing the "NEW NEW NEW" compulsion with a more grounded "let's use what works". It also allows us to not get too attached to material things as you will not care as much if a cheap used phone breaks as you would care if your brandnew factory phone broke down.
In the grand scheme of things reducing the generation of new demand in the supply chain is a great start to a more conscious way of living. The side effect of saving money will help free you of additional shackles to the system - less monetary pressures - less need to trade in your lifetime for earning huge sums of money ultimately wasted on redundant things that are overpriced and tax the resources of the Earth while making a few companies all the richer...
That saved money can instead be spent elsewhere - ideally where your passion resides and more (financial) energy is waiting to be flowing.
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Hey paradigm prospect. I have been off steemit for awhile and it's great to see you still writing. I completely agree, refuse where possible, get the stuff others would throw away and make it work. As for phones, it's all to true. I will probably buy new for my next but will be trying to get a Fairphone 2 or maybe 3 if they are out then. Ethically sourced materials, made in the Netherlands and easily repairable and upgradeable using modules. We always use our tech to death and then try and fix it ourselves, though resoldering circuit boards is still beyond me at this point. We are working our way towards a permaculture lifestyle. Just need to find some good dumpsters to dive now. Also good for construction materials etc.
hey @talltuk,
long time no see, yeah we all need a break from steem once in a while, it's all rather healthy.
never heard of the fairphone, sounds awesome and totally like what had to happen eventually. Will check that out, thanks!
the plan is to found a place to start a permaculture yard of my own, which is why I'll go on travels this fall, cause I dont know where its going to be at yet. But things need to shift so I cuzt ties with the old ahahaha.
thanks for dropping your comment here, as you may see this place has gotten real quite lately. sleeping giant.
<3
Are you thinking of moving country? I can't remember where your based.
Aye, will go on travel from Germany, Southwards <3
Good advice. I do some of these things when I can. Things don't have to be new new.
right? I barely ever consider buying new given the heaps of used high quality stuff already in physical existence
Whether a person should buy something brand new depends on a few factors. So, sometimes, people should buy brand new things depending a few different things. Ultimately, it is up to the individual. Too often, people try to always buy new things. Hypothetically, brand new might be better. It depends. Like, sometimes, a brand new thing might not last longer. Depends on what you are buying. Depends on many different things. Depends on what you need as opposed to what you want. It depends on whether or not you are going to really take care of it or not. It depends on whether it is practical enough to have it. I probably should write some posts, some articles, discussing decision making that can go into making these choices. It should be common sense. Too often, people can make emotional purchases that are rather too compulsive. Sometimes, people try to have too little or too much. Sometimes, you should not keep everything. Sometimes, you should not throw it all away. It depends on a few different things. Each item should be evaluated separately in the context of the overall story arch of your life and the lives around you.
Sounds interesting for sure, please do write if it calls you. I have found some of my best writings were spawned by reading someone else's post or idea and then giving my own take on it, elaborating and expanding.
It's such a beautiful way of cooperation and there is certainly lots to be said about some new and bold consumer strategies!
Have recently bought my first "ne" thing in years, a machine for making music, Elektron digitakt, because it is high grade, rather newly released and there is little availability on the used market because hardly anyone wants to give theirs away, and iof they do it only goes for a 10% price reduction to new, even if warranty has already expired.
That said, most other things I have purchased in the last ten years were used by someone else before. Calbes I never buy used, nor certain other things. But for most major expenses and bigger items I really found a great pleasure in waiting and scouting offers by people who i resonate with.
If you do write about it, will you link it for me or mention me in the comments? Would love to read it.
much love dude!
Good idea.
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I love the message behind all of this.
Just curious... Did you actually do some dumpster diving yourself? That still feels way out of my comfort zone :>)
Let's change the world by changing ourselves, step by step.
And, as MJ used to sing, 'make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race...'
Hugs from Switzerland! :>)
aye many times. Maybe I should write about it, had only mentioned it in passing here and there <3
Much love to Switzerland hehe, you traveler you
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