Something strange is happening in Japan—not with its politics or its technology, but with its spirit. Quietly and without fanfare, the country appears to be opting out of the global race for growth. Its economy is stagnant, its birth rate declining,...
Zhao is careful to distinguish between people who choose to want less and those who fail to act on their desires out of despair.
Are they really different? I could start in despair and then tell myself that’s what I want. I think I do that with many things I don’t have, basically turn my envy or desire into contempt for those who have those things.
Getting to vs having to. Makes a big difference. Soldiers have to force march with a ruck; we get to hike the Appalachian Trail. One is an adventure and the others sucks.
Being happy with less or growing to accept less is different from wanting more and being unable.
Growing to accept less seems like capitulation to an unfair, unjust, and unstainable system… but then why would I want to participate in that anyway? This is confusing
Are they really different? I could start in despair and then tell myself that’s what I want. I think I do that with many things I don’t have, basically turn my envy or desire into contempt for those who have those things.
Getting to vs having to. Makes a big difference. Soldiers have to force march with a ruck; we get to hike the Appalachian Trail. One is an adventure and the others sucks.
Being happy with less or growing to accept less is different from wanting more and being unable.
Growing to accept less seems like capitulation to an unfair, unjust, and unstainable system… but then why would I want to participate in that anyway? This is confusing