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Comment by Bsharp | Hacker News Reader

> Some of the happiest people I've ever met in my life have nothing by North American standards.

Some of the happiest people I've met in my life have everything by North American standards. Material things are tools for happiness, not happiness itself.

We all go to work for 40 hours a week so that we don't have to live in a tent, cook on a travel stove, and hunt/grow our own food, which suggests a very day-by-day, unstable lifestyle. If that's what makes you happy that's great, but I don't think it's fair to call it "consumerism" when really it's just reaping the benefits of technological advancements. Many people would rather work 40 hour workweeks for (essentially) guaranteed food, water, shelter, and leftover purchasing power, which I think is perfectly reasonable.

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> Material things are tools for happiness, not happiness itself.

Absolutely.

> We all go to work for 40 hours a week so that we don't have to live in a tent, cook on a travel stove, and hunt/grow our own food

You can ensure that by only going to work 20-30 hours a week.

> Many people would rather work 40 hour workweeks for (essentially) guaranteed food, water, shelter, and leftover purchasing power

But they're not getting that grantee. McDonald's just told it's full-time employees to go on food stamps. Wal-Mart has tens of thousands of employees working full-time equivalent hours with no health care and being forced to get a second and third job to make ends meet. Hundreds of millions of Americans have crushing debt, and still go to work full time. This just out today: most Americans are accumulating debt faster than they're saving for retirement[1]. What does that say about the future?

[1] http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/many-american...

I don't deny that people aren't spending their money wisely, but no one forces people into debt. It isn't hard to practice financial responsibility.

Also, wait: you can ensure better living quarters than a tent, presumably with a stove, and be able to purchase food while working 20-30 hours a week? Or are you not guaranteed to be able to have shelter, food, and water working 40 hours a week? Your two statements seem contradictory, unless I'm missing something.

I'm actually somewhat envious of your lifestyle. I'm just bothered by the elitist attitude I often hear from people who live it (not you in particular! many others though). While you may be a perfectly fine hunter, happy to live off the land, etc., many people aren't and would prefer the comfort of a desk job and steady paycheck. It's all preference, I don't think one way is superior to the other, morally or otherwise.

Actually, it isn't that hard. Canada pays for healthcare costs out of taxes. That's a bargain I like. Canadian society explicitly does not let you opt out. I don't hear masses of people saying this is tyrannical. Basic necessities should be ensured by the govt IMHO.

The point of my original post was not to say "My way is best, everyone should do what I'm doing".

The point was simply to point out there are perfectly valid alternatives to working 40 hours a week for the vast majority of your life. I meet thousands of people (in life and online) that have no idea you don't actually have to do that if you don't want to.

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