Freegans
This week I introduced my wife to the concept of freeganism. She went online, found a New York Times article, and was suitably appalled (especially about housing squatters). But we decided that we, and most of the neighborhood, are freegans ourselves, without the self-righteousness, and without giving up six-figure jobs (because nobody in the sticks ever had a six-figure job). Everybody scrounges free stuff, including food, fixes stuff, and generally minimizes involvement in the corporate economy...because they're poor. They aren't anti-capitalist, though. No, the highest use for free stuff is to sell it for cash. That's why you have junk stores, used lawnmower salesmen, and Amish salvage groceries. Too bad my commute to work negates all my good works.
Comments
Posted by: jeffrey smith
Posted on: October 16, 2007 09:03 PM
You're not freegans. You're frugals.
Freeganism might be a good practical illustration of Rand's term "stolen concept". They are living off the detritus of the capitalist system, apparently blissfully and idiotically unaware that their entire lifestyle of reuse and foraging would be impossible without the capitalist system. If the capitalist system collapsed somehow, they'd be unable to survive, because they've not actually developed the ability to produce value. They only know how to re-use value.
Posted by: Jeffrey Quick
Posted on: October 17, 2007 02:36 PM
Even Darling Spouse, who has never cracked an Ayn Rand book in her life (and will only ever experience Atlas Shrugged if they make the movie, given the size of the novel) instinctively understood the stolen concept part of that...which of course is why I married her.
Posted by: jeffrey smith
Posted on: October 17, 2007 09:52 PM
Tell her to read the essays. No mechanical plots, no cardboard characters, no longwinded speeches on pirate radio, and some of the best snarking ever committed in the English language.