A brief history of thrift

Description

This book surveys ‘thrift’ through its moral, religious, ethical, political, spiritual and philosophical expressions, focussing in on key moments such as the early Puritans and Post-war rationing, and key characters such as Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Smiles and Henry Thoreau. The relationships between thrift and frugality, mindfulness, sustainability, and alternative consumption practices are explained, and connections made between myriad conceptions of thrift and contemporary concerns for how consumer cultures impact scarce resources, wealth distribution, and the Anthropocene. Ultimately, the book returns the reader to an understanding of thrift as it was originally used - to ‘thrive’ - and attempts to re-cast thrift in more collective, economically egalitarian terms, reclaiming it as a genuinely resistant practice. Front matter Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Figures Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Towards a theory of thrift Religious thrift: Puritans, Quakers and Methodists Individualist thrift: Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Smiles and Victorian moralism Spiritual thrift: simplicity, sensuality and politics in Henry Thoreau Nationalist thrift: making do, rationing and nostalgic austerity Consumer thrift: Keynes, consumer rights and the new thrifty consumers Ecological thrift: frugality, de-growth and Voluntary Simplicity Conclusion: Thoreau in the city Afterword Notes References Index