Published February 10, 2022
What If No One Bought Stuff?
Years ago, the thought crossed my mind that remains with me to this day.
What would happen to our world if people stopped buying things?
The image in my mind was a lot of empty factories, empty store shelves, and people out of work. Never did I think that we would end up here during my lifetime.
The difference is that then I thought that at some point people would just have enough stuff and would stop buying. Today, people still want to buy stuff, but the economic system, which is largely controlled by federal and state governments, has created such a complex system that it cannot adapt to the growth in the economy. As a result, it collapses.
Normal Life Is Buying Stuff
Normal life. Really what is that?
Is it not being bothered by stuff we have no control over?
Is it living a peaceful passive existence?
Is it doing whatever I want, going wherever I want, and being in a relationship with whomever I want, without someone telling us that those choices are ruining life for them?
However, for that normal life to happen, we need the cash and the credit to fund it. Ultimately, normal life is about basic economics. We want to be free to do whatever we want. And that freedom comes with a price tag.
No Going Back
The door to our past lifestyles is closed.
The pandemic, the hyperinflation, the cancel culture, the authoritarian arrogance of politicians, and the empty shelves in supermarkets are all indicators - big, giant, flashing signs - telling us that there is no going back to the old normal world that we have known. The system that made that normal life possible is being crushed.
But it is more than that. As I wrote in The Future is More than Complex about Joseph Tainter’s work on the collapse of societies, he makes the point described in two ways that we are living in a time that other societies have faced before.
In one instance, he says that the collapse that happens in a society is “a radical simplification of an overly complex system.” This is what is happening right now. Step back and look with wide eyes and an open mind to see that everything has gotten very complicated. If you have to think about what to do when it is a simple kind of daily task, then it has become too complex.
Tainter’s other description is that every society that he has studied got to a point of overcomplexity knew it, but would not simplify their systems of governance.
I encourage you to read these two articles by Fabio Vighi. They are long and detailed. In them, he describes how the financial system has backed itself into a corner where it has no clear options.
Article #1: A Self-fulfilling Prophecy: Systemic Collapse and Pandemic Simulation
Article #2: The Central Bankers Long COVID: An Incurable Condition
None of this is news for those who have paid attention over the past fifty years. I knew people back then who were buying gold and only paying with cash. They were viewed as odd and too pessimistic about the future.
Finding Clarity for the Future
What are you supposed to do with this perspective?
First of all, let it steep in the teacup of your consciousness for a short while. Don’t make any quick decisions. Realize that all the signs were there. Most of us ignored them because life was good. And so the normal we loved is now slipping away.
If you need a picture of the decline of our economy over the past 50 years, check out WTF Happened In 1971? Nothing but graphs and no commentary. This is the moment of transition that has brought us to this point.
Second, begin to put a plan together for the future. Here is your chance to create a new normal. What can you live without? A new car? Your boat? A second house?
The insight that Joseph Tainter brings to societies, he also brings to us. It is time to simplify your lives. What can you not live without? What are the essentials that you must have for the next generation?
Three Ways To Simplify
Pay off your debts. / Reduce your obligated costs.
Reduce Screen Time / Increase Self-Education Time
Develop a Purpose for Impact with a Singular Focus
Well said and on target. We will soon be reimagining our lives and 'consumer' won't be at the top of the list. Thanks, Ed.