'Financial independence' is perhaps this society's most dangerous myth.
We are told we're a failure or a parasite if we don't achieve it, when in fact it doesn't even exist.
Even if you're a billionaire, someone else still grew your food, someone else still built your house. You're still dependent.
Money just allows you to be dependent on people you don't know instead of people you do. Which is miserable.
Yet most give up most of the days of their life to striving for this unhappy illusion.
@DarkOptimism I agree with your sentiment that the true independence of the term is not accurate.
I don’t know that the concept of financial independence ia 100% illusion though. A lot of people wish for it to avoid needing to clock in, report to a boss / client they hate, work hours they didn’t pick, and to travel and see the world.
I’d imagine the standard person wishes for wealth more for the freedom from oppressive instruments rather than living some opulent lifestyle.
@aptlyndecided Spot on, this is nothing to do with opulent lifestyles. It's something that affects almost everyone.
And once we realise that independence is a myth we can choose our dependencies more wisely - e.g. living more cheaply so as to get free of the need to clock in and sell our hours.
Which can be achieved by relying more on loving relationships than financial ones.
Or, as Epicurus said:
“If you wish to make Pythocles wealthy, don't give him more money; rather, reduce his desires.”
@rutger @DarkOptimism It seems to me the biggest opportunity to make this happen is to make the mandatory cost of quality housing = $0;
If you remove that 30%+ of total income as a mandatory cost, now a lot more people have a lot more free time to create more free time for themselves and others.
How could housing be made free for those who chose that lifestyle?
@aptlyndecided Hey @rutger , yes, what you describe sounds very much like my life. I'm glad there's a wider subculture around it!
And agree with all else you both say. Really our project here at #TheHappyPig (https://mstdn.social/@DarkOptimism/109410285273214948) is about bringing that forward (offering a place where people can be at zero financial cost).
And the wonderful Ecological Land Co-op movement that I used to chair likewise.
Seeding the future; preparing people for the sequels to our troubled civilisation ✊
Attached: 4 images For those interested to know more about life here at #TheHappyPig 🐷 , here's the 45 minute episode of #BenFogle's #Channel5 show #NewLivesInTheWild where he came to stay and hang out with #MarkBoyle: https://www.darkoptimism.org/NewLivesInTheWild.mp4 Or a 4 minute taste of the place by actress and model #LilyCole, in which I appear: https://www.nowness.com/series/retreats/retreats-marble-hill-lily-cole-mark-boyle-the-moneyless-man More info at: https://darkoptimism.org/projects#TheHappyPig #gifteconomy #Ireland
Shaun Chamberlin
aptlyundecided
rutger