Here s What s Wrong With Promoting Minimalism as a Lifestyle

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Thijs

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Minimalism is often portrayed as a viable alternative lifestyle to consumerism.

It s supposed to ensure a more fullfilling and less wasteful life.
For the sake of clarity, what exactly is minimalism?
Honoring the concept of the
rsion:

minimalist philosophy , here s the short, yet adequate ve

Minimalism is about getting rid of excess stuff and keeping only what you need.
Results that ensue are less stress, more time, and increased happiness.
That s pretty much it.
On many minimalist websites however, self proclaimed gurus are advertising their
newfound philosophy with much ado.
A lot of fluff is created around the simple notion that less is more. I mean, se
riously, how many times does it need to be said and rephrased in even more poeti
c forms that owning less stuff makes you happy?
What happened with walking the talk?
Which makes people wonder,
Minimalist living, isn t that some extreme, hipster-ish, highly trendy lifestyle?
Yes. It is.
It s even worse. Here s the problem with promoting minimalism as the alternative to
our wasteful Western lifestyles.
Minimalists are tainting the ideal of downsizing with the self-glorification of
minimalism as an ideology. Promoting the noble pursuit of downsizing as a purita
nical cult, the concept teeters on becoming a vulgarity. Thus rendering the whol
e idea a contradictio in terminis.
There are some other things that irk me about minimalism as a lifestyle
Minimalists can be utterly self-righteous.
Self-styled minimalists wonder how to make their idea become accessible and intri
guing instead of scary and intimidating . Arguing about the difference between sim
plicity and minimalism and if the one or the other term is better geared for the
ir purpose.
I have news for you, it s not scary or intimidating, it s offputting.
Often the question rises, is this ideology solely there for you to serve your eg
o, I m special because I m doing this ?
Minimalist bloggers even talk about how to keep the minimalist movement attracti
ve to the masses.
I can tell you right now, you won t.

Here s why.
Minimalism is inherently extreme
Many minimalism promotors are nowadays conveying the message that minimalism is
not about sleeping on the floor and other Spartan practices.
However, the bad connotation sticks. The lingering bad taste in my mouth probabl
y has to do with the label itself, minimalism . Nomen est omen. The name says it al
l. The ideology often dismissed as a fad probably IS a fad since its name refers
to an extremity. Minimalism is radicalism no matter how you color it in.
Merriam Webster on minimalism; a style or technique (as in music, literature, or
design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity
Finding the mean between two extremes, excess and minimizing to the max does not
seem to apply here.
Which is why..
Minimalism deals with more than a serious image problem only
Here s what one minimalist blogger said about the perception of minimalism as a li
festyle.
There are few if any downsides to minimalism, but sometimes it s difficult to expl
ain it to people who have closed minds. Sometimes people just don t want to unders
tand minimalism, they see what we re doing and they just want to argue or dismiss
it as a fad. Most of those people are very attached to their things, and they ar
e afraid to stop consuming because they associate a certain meaningfulness with
their consumption, they are too attached to an ideology that their stuff brings
them happiness. Thankfully, over time, minimalism reveals all of its advantages
on its own. So if you re patient with those people, their minds will open, and the
y will understand eventually. Ryan from The Minimalists
The hesitance towards minimalism isn t only due to narrowmindedness. Maybe there s s
omething else at play here.
Not only due to its intrinisic meaning but also because how minimalism is often
presented it comes of as an extremity. A radical lifestyle embraced by eccentric
nutters. An alienating, sanctimonious cult. No wonder people are hesitant or ev
en repelled by it.
I think people do understand it. The thing is, if you wouldn t make a caricature o
ut of the concept it would be more approachable and as a result perhaps more peo
ple would be interested in embracing it. Or at least parts of it.
Minimalism makes a caricature of itself
Just as consumerists are in a race of who owns the most (expensive) stuff, it se
ems many minimalists are competing over who owns the least things. Or in portray
ing an even more barren depiction of their minimalist life than the other.
Instead of a healthy, well-balanced alteration of the slipped consumption societ
y it seems more like an obsession that turned into a freakshow (the Absolutely F
abulous episode on minimalism comes to mind).
Don t get me wrong, I m all for uncluttering, downsizing and minimizing our outrageo
us Western lifestyle. It s just that promoting the benefits of the concept to the

rest of our Western society in a balanced way would be a much nobler thing to do
then deepening it into another definite subculture that feels less accessible t
o other people.
Minimalism as a lifestyle is a cult
If you are like me you may like to dabble into
bout your consumeristic behavior.

minimalism . Be aware and sensible a

I, however, am no minimalist, just as I m not my job, or my music taste, or my Kha

kis. I don t feel the need to become a minimalist . Let alone a true minimalist as I he
ar some people say. What is that anyway?
The tendency of people wallowing in a social subculture, whether it is being hip
ster, frat boy or a minimalist makes me cringe. I get it though, being a sheep i
s what makes us feel safe. Being part of a social sub-group, you can convenientl
y feel different without actually being different.
To capitalize on these needs lifestyles have become products and you could say m
inimalism is lifestyle porn. Or a religion. As most other cultural programs, min
imalism fetishizes ideas and concepts and lies out rules or guidelines. Gurus pr
eaching the Holy Minimalism Commandments tell you which path to follow on how to
live well (there s even a $149 course in minimalist living).
If there is anything the nonconformist hates worse than a conformist, it s another
nonconformist who doesn t conform to the prevailing standard of nonconformity.
Bi
ll Vaughan
Be warned that adopting any pre-fabricated, dogmatic lifestyle, whether it s the s
uburbial McMansion lifestyle or the minimalist lifestyle with its rules and soci
al conditions reduces your freedom. Passively obeying the sermons of lifestyle p
reachers you are just as manipulated as corporate puppets and consumerist servan
ts.
In that sense minimalism is no different. It s just another countercultural lifest
yle providing its followers with a certain social status. Seemingly outside the
status quo but still securely in its own delimited niche.
Minimalism is still about stuff
Either acquiring it or focusing on doing without it. Obsessive product counting
or fetishizing the few products you do own.
With less material possessions the focus becomes on the empty spaces themselves.
the ones with almost nothing in them except some beautiful furniture, some nice
artwork, and a very few pretty decorations, are the ones that appeal to most of
us .

Minimalism would be better as a tool instead of a definite lifestyle

More balanced supporters prefer to view minimalism, or more specific
as a lifestyle instrument instead of a lifestyle.

less is more

Here s an analogy.
When you want to lose weight the best way to do so is not by almost starving you
rself. The most efficient and long term sustainable way is to make lifestyle cha
nges you can keep up with, eat better, eat less, excerise somewhat more. This c

rux here, you keep it fun and it s doable.

You don t have to own only one pair of jeans I myself have three pairs because I lov
e jeans but at the same time I do like to own as less stuff as possible. To a ce
rtain degree that is. It makes me feel good to be able to get around with only t
he bare necessity of possessions. Or probably just a little bit more.
I admit, it s liberating too. Less stuff that can break, I can lose, or can outdat
e so I have to buy the upgraded version. More appreciative of the things I do ow
n.
Studies show that non-capitalist peoples and tribes are luckier than we in our s
o called first world, full of products and advertisements. It s like Buddha said,
the root of suffering is attachment.
Wrapping it up
To clarify, I don t think there s anything wrong with radical lifestyles. To each hi
s own. It s just that the promotion of minimalism as the solution to consumerism i
s a crappy one.
And if you would want to deny the radical aspect, why not call it modestism, go
lden mean ism, or something more eloquent or just stick with downsizing?
Or just admit its a badge of honor. The same warm trendy sheepfur coat friends a
nd likeminded folks wear. Because as long is it s called minimalism it s unlikely to
shake off its bad image.
Until that time
.modesty is a virtue folks. You might expect this to apply especially to the impl
ementation of minimalism as a lifestyle.
Maybe somewhat less elitist, more humble. Perhaps even a little bit more stuff a
nd somewhat less self righteous moralism. You know, minimizing the condescending
attitude, telling others what to do.
But of course, only just a little bit.