Bouckaert, L. (2008). Frugality: Rebalancing material and spiritual values in economic life. Bern: Peter Lang.

In this book, it is a compilation of papers that addresses frugality in economic life, such as to introduce frugality, and the social and economic implications on a macro and micro level etc. Although the books mainly covers frugality in the context of economy, it also highlights frugality in the consumer’s point of view, frugality and its effects and benefits for individuals.

Here are the extractions from the book where I feel that it is important to highlight and focus on these points:

In the paper ‘Rational versus Spiritual Concepts of Frugality’ by Lik Bouckaert

• Simply our needs

The more desire one has, the greater the chance that they will not be satisfied, thus leading to suffering.

In the paper ‘Frugality and the body’ by Rafael Esteban

• Ideology of consumer culture

It promises happiness in the acquisition and consumption of an ever increasing amount of commodities, but the economic system built on it does not satisfy real needs. On the contrary, it creates an ever-increasing wants by cultivating greed and results in structural dissatisfaction.

From this 2 papers, they pointed out the psychological effect on consumers where buying more will bring greater happiness but is not true in the long run as it increases one’s greed and desire of wanting even more. The more we want to have, the more we feel unsatisfied and in turn we feel miserable about not having more. And the effects could related to issues such as inferiority etc.

The world is not divided into the ‘haves’ and ‘have-not’ but between a majority that do not have enough and a minority that has too much. And the real trouble is that the deprived majority does not aspire to have ‘enough’ for decent human living but aspires to participate in the unlimited growth of the ‘consumer society’, deepening the unsustainability of the present economic system.

• suggests that we have to develop a culture and economy that prizes nonmaterial goods above material goods.

 

Quote by Mahatma Gandhi:

“There is enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.”

 

In the paper ‘Overconsumption’ by Dirk Geldof

• Sufficiency : an alternative overconsumption; a crucial element in strategies for sustainability; provides more time for ourselves to enjoy our lives

Sufficiency is not about saying goodbye to material wealth and repressing our desire, rather, it focuses on how to deal with wealth, satisfy our desires more deeply and how to enjoy a qualitatively better life by consuming less.

 

In the paper ‘Consumerism and frugality: Contradictory Principles in Economics?’ by Ronald Commers & Wim Vandekerckhove

• Frugality stresses low consumption that meets long term personal familial and communal needs.
• One important notion – the use of external goods has a natural limit. Material wealth is needed to a certain extent, but should be used only as an instrument.

 

In the paper ‘Frugal Marketing: Can selling less make business sense’ by Ronald Jeurissen and Bert van de Ven

• Frugality versus Marketing

It seems paradoxical that marketing should be able to deal with beliefs and attitudes that aim at consuming less. But frugality offers several marketing opportunities, depending on how the value and virtue of frugality are perceived and practiced by consumers.

Frugality is a way for people to gain control over their lives by freeing themselves from the pressures of the consumer roles and the constraints and uncertainties of being unemployed.

Marketing, however, seems to cultivate a hedonistic and materialistic world view. It teaches consumers that fast gratification of needs is the norm rather than making considered and balanced consumer choices.

In the paper ‘Buddhist Economic Strategy’ by Laszlo Zsolnai

• Buddhist economics

This strategy is centered on the want negation and the purification of human character, challenges the basic principles of modern western economy including profit maximisation, cultivating desires, introducing markets, instrumental use of the world, and self interest-based ethics.

It proposes an alternative principles: minimising suffering, simplifying desires, nonviolence, genuine care, and generosity.

By minimising suffering: it means not to produce gains but to decrease losses, because humans display loss-sensitivity it makes sense trying to reduce losses for oneself and for others rather than trying to increase gains for them.

By simplifying our desires: Buddhism recommends moderate consumption and is directly aimed at managing one’s preferences through meditation, reflection, analysis, autosuggestion and the like.

More money is better than less money. But getting more money may have a negative effect.

Example 1: an overpaid employer may not always perform at highest level.

Example 2: being under financed may be beneficial for project. It forces one to use money more creatively and effectively.