Linnea - Thank you for this rather thoughtful piece on how to think about being enough and how that relates to economics and the cost of a society bent on always consuming more. I appreciate when someone is able to lay out ideas related to capitalism and discuss the downside in terms of health and wellness. In the United States, socialism is often treated as a dirty word, yet globally the richest 1% of people control roughly 50% of the world’s total wealth.
Statistics like this raise a practical question about the quality of life of the other 99% of people in the world. Do people have stable housing, reliable access to food, medical care, and education? Do they have time to rest, spend time with family, and enjoy parts of their lives outside of work?
Your discussion of Indigenous traditions, Buddhist economics, and gift economies highlights how different societies have tried to organize economic life around sufficiency rather than accumulation, which speaks directly to the question of what “enough” actually looks like in daily living. It also touches the deeper issue you raise, how difficult it can be, both individually and culturally, to believe that what we have and who we are can be enough.
I've been watching a show about the late 1700s, when the discrepancy between the haves and the have-nots was extreme and starvation of the masses in France led to revolution and almost did the same in England. It seems to me that we are not far off from that place once again. Will we ever learn?
There was so much here to think about. I have enough and I am enough, but I am continually fighting the need for more, to be more. I am going to read and read again.
Omgoodness I just wrote an entire article on Wetiko! Great minds!! I would love your thoughts. Thanks for this great read. https://meganleejoy.substack.com/p/the-disease-running-the-world-has?r=1osx6r&utm_medium=ios
Oooh, I’m looking forward to reading it!
The truth of your words was received with a giant, full-body exhale here. Thank you 🪷💖🪷🕊️
Thank you Keith, truly. 💜🙏💜
Thank you for this important guidance Linnea-
Choosing enough in a culture of manufactured scarcity is a revolutionary act
Truly, it is!
Linnea - Thank you for this rather thoughtful piece on how to think about being enough and how that relates to economics and the cost of a society bent on always consuming more. I appreciate when someone is able to lay out ideas related to capitalism and discuss the downside in terms of health and wellness. In the United States, socialism is often treated as a dirty word, yet globally the richest 1% of people control roughly 50% of the world’s total wealth.
Statistics like this raise a practical question about the quality of life of the other 99% of people in the world. Do people have stable housing, reliable access to food, medical care, and education? Do they have time to rest, spend time with family, and enjoy parts of their lives outside of work?
Your discussion of Indigenous traditions, Buddhist economics, and gift economies highlights how different societies have tried to organize economic life around sufficiency rather than accumulation, which speaks directly to the question of what “enough” actually looks like in daily living. It also touches the deeper issue you raise, how difficult it can be, both individually and culturally, to believe that what we have and who we are can be enough.
I've been watching a show about the late 1700s, when the discrepancy between the haves and the have-nots was extreme and starvation of the masses in France led to revolution and almost did the same in England. It seems to me that we are not far off from that place once again. Will we ever learn?
There was so much here to think about. I have enough and I am enough, but I am continually fighting the need for more, to be more. I am going to read and read again.
Yes, you are enough! The struggle to be more (and never finding enough) is very real. Implicit messages are the hardest to dislodge. 💜🙏💜
Amazing! I just finished a book called Radical Dharma, so I love the idea of applying buddhist ideals to economics!
That sounds like a book I’d enjoy! 💜
So well said.
Thank you Morgan! 💜🙏💜
LOVE this piece Linnea♥️🔥🙏
Thank you so much @Camilla Sanderson ! That means a lot coming from you (and I really do mean that - I’m a big fan of yours).
💜🙏💜
Thank you, Linnea—that’s very kind of you to say.
I’m so glad our paths have crossed here. Keep writing and sharing your voice—it’s beautiful and so needed in the world 💜🙏