# How Less is More By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2025-02-15 Capitalist economics is based on the notion that more is preferable to less. Much of economic thinking can be boiled down to this axiom. This ethos is so ingrained in our society that it can seem that it is an aspect of human nature rather than ideology. Whereas one can debate the degree to which it is one rather than the other, the human capacity to transcend its essence holds the potential for liberation. Both nature and ideology can be overcome. Consumption is at the core of the capitalist ideology. It is presented to the masses as the basis for happiness. If only one can accumulate the next thing, whatever it is, one will finally be content. This way of being will never lead to fulfillment because more consumption requires more work and often more debt. The consumption always comes too late. The platitude, less is more, provides insight into how to break out of the cycle of work, consumption, and despair. Less does not mean nothing. Less means selectivity. Focusing on quality over quantity breaks the cycle. It is the difference between having a thousand Facebook “friends” versus having two or three authentic ones. Accumulating an abundance of virtual friends results mainly in distraction. Authenticity is fulfillment. Accumulating an extensive library holds no internal value if one never reads any books. And if one has read all the books in one’s library, one quickly realizes that most are not worthy of being retained. Thorstein Veblen discussed the drive for “conspicuous consumption.” Capitalism creates an environment in which status is derived through material excess. Such a dynamic is all about projection, which carries the fear of being found out. Projection is inherently fraudulent. Only weak people care about appearing strong; only dumb people are concerned with seeming smart; only poor people want to come across as rich. People with “desirable” characteristics simply are who they are. They aren’t interested at all in superficial appearances. They want to focus on the real. For the vast majority of the working class, their consumption is driven by status-seeking—a focus on less rather than more changes the dynamic of capitalism. Capitalists predominately gain wealth through the consumption of the working class. Break the cycle. For example, cooking meals from scratch is significantly cheaper than buying preprocessed food products. Taking the time to cook from scratch is potentially fulfilling. It is healthier. This simple example illustrates how less is more. Something can be cheaper, healthier, and more fulfilling. The only impediment is that it seems more complicated based on ideological indoctrination. What seems “easy” has been made to appear to entice people to do that instead of what is better. In pursuing more, we have given up the joy that can come from less. One can be free if one can minimize one's wants, needs, and desires. #### Related Items [[Capitalism]] [[Economics]] [[Materialism]] [[Ideology]] [[Strength]] [[Power]] [[Wealth]] [[Joy]]