This article discusses minimalism as an example of anti-consumer-oriented social practices. the first section focuses on the assumptions of minimalism. The following parts refer to different variants of the relationship between minimalism and derivatives of consumption, i.e. anti-consumption and hyper-consumption (consumerism). The author also considers minimalism as a style of consumption and as a form of conscious consumption. The analysis is based on minimalist blogs and books.Keywords: minimalism, consumption, consumerism, alternative forms of consumption Minimalism is a lifestyle 1 that, according to its followers and some researchers, is characterized by an anti-consumerist approach combined with the demand for seeking meaning in life by means other than consumerism-oriented attitudes. Its main principle -"less is more" -is explained as "owning less" in order to achieve more in non-material aspects of life. Such a view of minimalism provides comprehensive instruments for carrying out life changes according to a specific pattern. These include: criticism of consumerism (excessive consumption); post-* Dr, Faculty of economics and Sociology, institute of Sociology, Department of Sociology of Culture; renata_dopierala@poczta.onet.pl 1 this is one of the many definitions of minimalism used primarily by its researchers. other terms appearing both in texts authored by minimalists themselves and (less frequently) in the secondary literature include: idea, ideology, way of life, philosophy, way of thinking, doctrine, attitude, fashion, and way.
Wydanie nowe poszerzone. Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy ZnakRenata Dopierała, socjolog, adiunkt w Katedrze Socjologii Kultury Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego. Jej zainteresowania naukowe koncentrują się wokół problematyki z zakresu mikrosocjologii oraz mediów i komunikacji. Prowadzi badania socjologiczne nad zjawiskami codzienności, prywatności i emocji.
The article discusses popular Stoicism (a modern, simplified, and often commercialized version of ancient Stoicism), which is offered as an answer to the uncertainty of modernity. The financial, political, climate, and health crises have been detrimental to the sense of agency and control over one’s life, leading individuals to seek ways of (subjectively) regaining it. Popular Stoicism can be viewed as an expert system providing individuals with a specific vision of happiness and the good life, in addition to offering practical knowledge on how to define an area of individual agency by negotiating the boundaries between that which is within one’s power and that which is not. Reflections begin with a juxtaposition of ancient and contemporary Stoicism, focusing on their different socio-cultural origins, followed by a synthesis of the principles of ancient Stoicism on happiness and the good life and a detailed interpretation of the ‘offering’ of popular Stoicism in the relevant areas. In the latter context, two chosen Stoic exercises (necessary to achieve happiness and the good life) are discussed—the ability to recognize what things depend/do not depend on us and Stoic emotion work. The practices and techniques recommended as a part of constant work on oneself are also supposed to teach individuals to adapt to their unstable reality. As a result, the popular version of Stoicism perpetuates the mechanisms of the culture of individualism, which holds the individual fully responsible for their life, and the therapeutic and counseling culture (based on one’s readiness to constantly self-improve), which is a new form of disciplining in a neoliberal society. Both are important elements of the everyday life and lifestyle of the middle class. This class is interested in self-fulfillment and is the primary target audience of contemporary Stoic handbooks. The consideration is based on fragments of books on popular Stoicism, mainly written by Polish philosophers, subjected to qualitative content analysis.
This article aims to present selected aspects of everyday life of people who define themselves as followers of simplifying life in view of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The article comprises three parts. The first, in a synthetic form, gives an outline of the idea of a simple life, its main beliefs and manifestations, whereas the second describes the degree and types of changes in the organisation of everyday life of simplifiers at the given time. The third part investigates whether the pandemic-triggered experiences have the potential to modify current consumption attitudes. This point is a reference to voices appearing in the public debate signalling – especially in the initial phase – such a possibility on a wider social scale. The research material was blog entries, fragments of podcasts on the simple life, and other sources (reports, scientific and journalistic texts).
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