Thoreau's Worst Nightmare
Are the new ascetics masters of self-denial or just self-promotion?
when Henry David Thoreau retreated to the woods, he famously told his readers that he wanted "to front only the essential facts of life." What he didn't say is that he also wanted to front the essential facts of his ambition. It was at Walden Pond where Thoreau, an original slacker, finally became a writer. He finished his account of a canoe ride with his brother, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, and wrote the first draft of Walden, the book that made his name.
After 150 years, Walden endures as a monument to frugality, solitude, and sophomore-year backpacking trips. Yet it's Thoreau's ulterior motive that has the most influence today. He was one of the first to use lifestyle experimentation as a means to becoming a published author. Going to live by the pond was a philosophical decision, but it was also something of a gimmick. And if you want to land a book deal, you gotta have a gimmick. Recently, with "green living" having grown into a thriving and profitable trend, the sons and daughters of Thoreau are thick on the ground. Not many retreat to the woods anymore, but there are infinite ways to circumscribe your life: eat only at McDonald's, live biblically, live virtually, spend nothing. Is it still possible to "live deliberately"? What wisdom do we take away from our postmodern cabins?
The most notorious neo-Thoreauvian might be Colin Beavan, a 45-year-old New Yorker better known as No Impact Man, and even better known as The Man Who Doesn't Let His Wife Use Toilet Paper. That last detail was the highlight of a 2007 New York Times profile of Beavan, which portrayed how he, his wife, and their two-year-old daughter were attempting to live in downtown Manhattan with zero "net impact" on the environment. This goal involves eating only organic food grown within a 250-mile radius, composting inside their small apartment, forgoing paper, carbon-based transportation, dishwashers, TV, and adhering to whatever new austerities Beavan dreams up.
Naturally, Beavan is hoping his no impact experiment has maximum impact. Like Thoreau, who, after all, was living on Emerson's land, Beavan is well connected. He has a book contract. His wife's friend has made him the subject of her documentary film, and he has a website, where people praise his boldness and question his motives. One commenter, Naysayer, speaks for the cynical: "Well, you've found your ticket to fame and fortune. Just undergo a period of time where you are inconvenienced (but plenty of exceptions) then cash in with book and movie deals, then speaking engagements around the globe." And then there are those whom Beavan has simply annoyed: "For the next year, I will be your polor [sic] opposite," writes Full Impact Woman. Unlike his deadly earnest spiritual mentor, though, Beavan views his project with an ironic distance, telling the Times, "Like all writers, I'm a megalomaniac. I'm just trying to put that energy to good use."
Beavan can be overbearing, but every ascetic choice implies a critique of those who aren't following the same path: I am giving up my car, therefore you are a selfish, earth-destroying auto addict. Also, extreme conservation—not flushing the toilet, not showering, and the like—can turn people off to conserving at all. Thoreau took it on the chin from Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote of him, "So many negative superiorities begin to smack a little of the prig." The critique of Beavan is the same. These men have walled themselves off in a little hothouse of their own ego. They are not living courageously and independently in the real world, nor could they if they tried. Fair points, but what's the alternative? Every decision to try to live differently starts with a little showmanship.
So the self-deprivation author must tread lightly: Bear witness to my extreme example, but realize that I'm just like you. Judith Levine, who charts her Year Without Shopping in Not Buying It, manages this balance gracefully. She goes on a spree before the pledge begins, and keeps in touch with her imperfection throughout. Yes, there is the thrifty virtue in resisting the latest, expensive fashions, but not buying also means becoming a cultural recluse. "An informed person like me needs to see new art, new films," Levine writes, longing for all the movies passing her by. She and her partner Paul discover that to subsist on free entertainment is to read dusty library books and endure bad performance art. Levine does experience the joyful liberation from stuff, and she temporarily gets off the hedonic treadmill. Yet she also admits that to not consume anything is to become a burden to friends, to feel old, and to develop an unholy craving for Q-tips.
Inspiration for these books can arrive in ridiculous ways. Mary Carlomagno, the author of Give It Up!: My Year of Learning to Live Better With Less, launched her self-denying quest this way: "While reaching for my black sling backs, an avalanche of designer shoeboxes hit me squarely on the head." Gotcha. She spends a month each giving up different things: alcohol, elevators, newspapers, multitasking, cursing, cell phones, and coffee. (Coffee is a common enemy in these books, including Walden.) Carlomagno is a less rigorous self-denier than most—the height of her deprivation is to give up dining out for a month. Yet she arrives at the same destination as do her peers: reading more poetry, taking longer walks.
While most of these authors accessorize their quests with some larger purpose, Sara Bongiorni, the author of A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy, decides to boycott China simply to "see if it can be done." (See our own experiment in buying American.) Her book is marred by a faint jingoistic tone and a deadening obviousness. Guess what? A lot of the stuff in your house comes from China! (But not Hungry Hungry Hippos, apparently.) Toward the end of her year, Bongiorni debates whether to extend her pledge, but concludes, "A Christmas without Chinese gifts under the tree looms like a date with the executioner." Never has an attempt at conscientious consumption so missed the point.
In all of these self-deprivation experiments, there comes a moment when self-denial becomes self-defeating. An Internet entrepreneur from San Diego named Dave Bruno has received a lot of back pats for his "100 Thing Challenge," a goal to limit his possessions to that magic number. It's a useful thought experiment, but do shoes count as one thing, or should each shoe count as a separate item? The point—how much crap do you really need?—can quickly get lost in the details. Ascetics often become distracted by the rules or take things too far. Consider the fervent subculture of people who try to live plastic-free lives. Another perfectly worthy goal, but then you stumble upon advice like this on the blog PlasticLess.com: "Get a Vasectomy: Children are the target market for pointless plastic stuff. Most temporary forms of birth control involve some plastic packaging." (Uh, okay.)
I don't mean to throw cold water on earnest self-improvement. But maybe we should set about such tasks in a way that doesn't reek of personal branding. Thoreau, after all, left the cabin behind, which earned the respect of Robert Louis Stevenson: "When he had enough of that kind of life, he showed the same simplicity in giving it up as in beginning it. There are some who could have done one, but, vanity forbidding, not the other; and that is perhaps the story of hermits; but Thoreau made no fetish of his own example." While that doesn't mean not writing a book, it may mean not letting the rigor of your experiment get in the way of the lessons.
All of these writers have good advice for our economically perilous and environmentally precarious moment. Not many, however, were permanently changed by their yearlong experiments. The authors of Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally welcome lemons and beer back into their house. Judith Levine is thrilled to buy new socks and starts to consume again, albeit in a more deliberate way. The ultimate lesson of the new Thoreauvians seems to be that change is rarely drastic. We must strive for continuous, daily, incremental improvement toward whatever social, environmental, and economic goals we deem important. That path won't land you on Morning Edition, but it might just get you to floss, recycle, grow your own food, sit in the dark, air-dry yourself, take daily walks, and read more poetry. Which puts us back where we started: Walden Pond, 1845.
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I'm thinking about starting
I'm thinking about starting a blog about my year going without the Internet.
I like the fact that poetry has such power in keeping us calm, sensible and sane. It's unfortunate poetry is not promoted as such.
www.usiku.net
This article is an example of just the sort of moderating check a lot of these new protest books need.
Yes, some of these experiments have expiration dates. But not all. I began my plastic-free life a year and a half ago (http://www.fakeplasticfish.com) and have no intention of quitting. It's actually not as hard as most people think, and with a sense of humor and easy-going attitude, you can get others to follow along.
Drastic is a state of mind.
Cheers!
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Then it is a good thing. As annoying as it may be, sometimes good points will come of it and other, more deflated heads, will take something home at the end of the day and take initiative to improve a sullen state of being.
That an individual writes
That an individual writes about living in some particular manner to achieve a name for himself or herself—is this any different than say an inventor, or an architect dreaming to have the freedom to build whatever their heart desires or anyone who attempts to do anything at all will ultimately need some means to exist but also a means to promote themselves revenge of the fallen online.
That an individual writes
That an individual writes about living in some particular manner to achieve a name for himself or herself—is this any different than say an inventor, or an architect dreaming to have the freedom to build whatever their heart desires or anyone who attempts to do anything at all will ultimately need some means to exist but also a means to promote themselves revenge of the fallen online.
That an individual writes
That an individual writes about living in some particular manner to achieve a name for himself or herself—is this any different than say an inventor, or an architect dreaming to have the freedom to build whatever their heart desires or anyone who attempts to do anything at all will ultimately need some means to exist but also a means to promote themselves revenge of the fallen online.
100% agree
I am absolutely agree with you.
Falling sick on a journey
My dream goes wandering
Over a field of dry grass
Matsuo Basho (1694)
Yes I’m sure that Thoreau had it all planned out—I will go out to Walden Pond, build me a cabin, and write about it all and become a famous American writer—One might reflect on just what type of individual could catch the attention of Emerson?—Certainly not any old hermit but rather a very special “brand” of hermit—the kind of Dharma Bum that has got something grand to say. Thoreau was someone who had something to say as a hermit and not as a hermit.
Still Walden as an experiment is in its essence a sort of anarchic episode—where via self sufficiency there is a hope that it might be possible for people to live without the machinery of government and achieve a sense of practical peace of mind—as opposed to the pressing need of Washington to sell to the American People that Mexico is threatening American sovereignty—thus even today we all sit our children down in front of the TV and let them be absorbed by the heroic efforts at the Alamo—they were indeed a grand gang of characters. But what is the truth of that war? Will Iraq achieve the same future status in the sense of a cover up—we are doing our best to make Vietnam into a sort of taboo—only if those damn liberals wouldn’t have stopped our boys—we’d a won it? But that is a lie!
Thoreau might have done better to have been absorbed by the process of democracy—creating the Waldenite Party and attempting to transform the political scene into one of small government and political isolationism. But try as he might he would not have escaped those other forces that are also part of the makeup of society—those of Westward expansionism, American imperialism-colonialism via the Monroe Doctrine, those who sought to build out American militarism and naval supremacy or American internationalism all of whom existed with their own visions of America at the same time that Thoreau existed.
Walden is not a means to an end but rather it is a political statement—Thoreau is a political animal but his means to achieving his ends failed—but it did inspire people who did not fail in their endeavors to create change—like say Gandhi or King who were influenced by his path of non violent Civil Disobedience.
Why is it necessary to view Thoreau as originally being a slacker? Perhaps that is a denial of life—the stereo type of a slacker? It is a bit like Bukowski ‘s Barfly when he speaks of the merits of the alcoholic—where his publisher Tully has discovered the writer Charles Chinasky but is appalled by his lifestyle and she claims “anyone can be an alcoholic” to which the protagonist Chinasky retorts that to be an alcoholic requires endurance and no other force in life is more important than endurance—thus not anybody can be a alcoholic because what it means to be one is not known for the majority of us since we are not alcoholics.
That an individual writes about living in some particular manner to achieve a name for himself or herself—is this any different than say an inventor, or an architect dreaming to have the freedom to build whatever their heart desires or anyone who attempts to do anything at all will ultimately need some means to exist but also a means to promote themselves—even a scientist lives in an experiment—shall we challenge their motives too. Was it because it wasn’t “pure” enough or ethical enough? No matter how one looks at it the way in which we do things—our everyday acts are without much reflection and yet if we become engaged in them—like asking the question where did this food come from, why is it packaged this way, where will this packaging go when I chuck it in the trash can and once digested where will this excrement go and when I wipe how much paper will I consume in the course of my life and if I consume so much paper and if on average everyone alive consumes this much paper and suddenly a light goes off—that unless we change this non-reflected routine of how we process sewage, or package our food or grow our food or the consequences of each act viewed from the perspective of its “life-cycle” we will destroy ourselves because the systems we have devised are unsustainable—this fundamental principle of survival of the species is that which is primal and primordial in our essence—thus if some individual chooses to entertain us with this sort of problem as a means for him or her to survive—why should I judge their motives as cynical? Who is being more cynical?
I will be blunt and to the point. I expect better of Mother Jones. Where in the [deleted] did you find the turd that wrote this horse[deleted]? I know times are tough, but c'mon? Is he fat? Did his mother not pay enough attention to him? Or is he just another self-absorbed dullard with a degree who's screwed up his depth finder by staring at the television/computer screen for far too long? I have a subscription, and plan on resubscribing online (to save paper , [deleted]), so I hope my opinion counts when I say [deleted] this guy. You can do better. Cynics are just that, and all I wanted was honest news. Thoreau and gimmick most definitely do not belong in the same story, and I would go so far as to say he may have helped me save my life, or at least find it. Shame on you, ladies.......I'll forgive you tomorrow!
.....I COULDN'T EVEN FINISH THE ARTICLE!!! I tried, if for nothing more than morbid curiousity. It's garbage.
hmm..yeah I kind of felt the
hmm..yeah I kind of felt the same. I started reading but then I got lost in trying to make sens of what this article was all about. It is a bit full on and unfortunately lost quite a bit of the audience and it's interest.
not to mention some of the rather angry comments
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It is really a good thing
Then it is a good thing. As annoying as it may be, sometimes good points will come of it and other, more deflated heads, will take something home at the end of the day and take initiative to improve a sullen state of being. Madison from fat loss 4 idiots diet reviews and fat loss diet tips
A hearty chuckle and Bravo! in your direction.
The basic fallacy in all the ascetics' thought processes is this: The only solution to the excesses of society is a complete rejection of the whole system. No middle ground, no remedy will do except chuck it according to some axe-grinding definition.
As Agger points out, the arbitrary self-righteousness of it presents opportunities for humor and wonderment. I know a person who meters out toilet paper (1 square for little jobs, 4 squares for big ones). Do you limit your locally-grown zone to 250 miles or 250 meters? Do you REALLY have to give up bathing and deodorant?
OK, we get it, we're participants in a non-sustainable artificial system that is destroying the ecology of the planet. But don't worry, it IS self-correcting. The correction may turn out to be that Earth becomes uninhabitable, but if that happens, isn't that really more the norm? Ah, a return to the true natural order.
The ascetics ought to be happy if that were the outcome. The world ends not with a bang, but with a "I told ya so."
-Wexler
This reminds me of a comment made by a medical doctor several decades ago. When asked what he thought of vegetarianism, he replied, "It seems harmless, except for producing an excess of flatulence and self-righteousness."
I had the fortunate experience to live similarly to most folks of the world for over five years. I had no electricity, but I had "run and get it water", and an outhouse. It was a good time for me. I was given time to live.
I didn't have to spend time laboring for someone else to pay for those things I could provide myself, or didn't really need. Now that I live in the"modern Society", I have no time and many more needs.
Mud
The difference between Thoreau and the "writers" you mention is that Thoreau had talent, skill, intelligence, and, most importantly, he had something to say. The modern idiots are just, honestly, self aggrandizing idiots. Waldo had that all important aspect known as "literary merit" or "art," while those people mentioned don't.
I agree, he was skilled man
I agree, he was skilled man and I hope that some other writer will come once again. Mike from inkline global pc booster review and heavy equipment operator jobs guide
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This reminds me of a comment made by a medical doctor several decades ago. When asked what he thought of vegetarianism, he replied, "It seems harmless, except for producing an excess of flatulence and self-righteousness."
Glad the author touched good points..
Those were good points... and they made me think pretty hard about our culture towards health care... somehow the points bring up certain issues we face to improve our health care system.
I don't understand why so many of My Fellow Americans tend to see things in an either/or fashion. It's totally unnecessary. Some activism is better than none. Nobody likes extremism. Just reduce your impact as you see fit. And please don't preach (or write) about it. Thanks.
"Every decision to try to live differently starts with a little showmanship."
That is so thoroughly untrue, I'm not sure what to make of it. I couldn't read past that line; what's the point? There's obviously not a very strong foundation to the article.
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Great article! Expose the cheats and hypocrites for who they really are!
Enjoyed the article...
It took me some time to finish the article.. however i enjoyed reading it to the last bit... Thanks to the author for the thoughts and efforts put into this great read...
dont worry be happy
For sure nice article, a lot of of work had been done, respect to Autor!
Amazing how we make life so complicated. Eat when hungry, sleep when tired.
People who are excessively self-righteous and seek to do something for the sake of bolstering their own image are no doubt pervasive in the world and will never cease to frustrate me.
The sustainability movement, fortunately and unfortunately at the same time, has picked up individuals who champion the cause with these kinds of characteristics apparent in their undertakings.
Regardless, if we can get past an ostentatious demonstration and look at what they are actually doing and what significance the results may have, then it is a good thing. As annoying as it may be, sometimes good points will come of it and other, more deflated heads, will take something home at the end of the day and take initiative to improve a sullen state of being.
Great article! Expose the cheats and hypocrites for who they really are! Commercialism, consumerism, consumption and shameless self promotion masked as activism and cathartic asceticism. Think of all the collateral waste produced from sharing their "bold" experiences and experiments: paper (book printing), fuel (traveling and shipping)...uh, ok I can only think of these two right now but I'm sure there are plenty more...
Agger hits the nail on the head: "We must strive for continuous, daily, incremental improvement toward whatever social, environmental, and economic goals we deem important." Otherwise all these experiments are just hype and trends that fall by the wayside (more waste! lol) when the next one comes along.
rationalization for fake-hippie yuppies.
your coops are loaded with plastic packaging & too expensive for the poor.
Folks like Beaven are Johnny-come-latelies to a rich urban sub-culture spread across North America and Northern Europe, peopled by a young generation who have rejected global capitalism for years and years. Known variously as crusty-punks and/or anarchists living in squats or almost squats, these folks have NO footprint, because they scrounge for just about everything, and purchase almost nothing. The independently produced film "Shelter: a Squatumentary" by Hannah E. Dobbz is a good place to see the development of this urban culture--by comparison, Beaven is far from being an urban first. What is also nice about these young people is their motive for doing this--not protracted navel-gazing like Beaven, but in order to have more free time to work on social programs that feed and support the larger community in which they live.
it's not even worth a discussion??
we could learn from our WW2 parents when it comes to keeping things simple and utilizing what we have. i have rolled my eyes at my mother's ways. saving containers, clipping coupons and cleaning a turkey carcass like you've never seen.
hahaha this article made me laugh so hard. thoreau was such a cheat and went into town regularly. emerson is the man.
don't just give up plastic, or buying stuff from china, that's boring and elitist. you can't fix this problem by NOT doing something! ya gotta love your neighbors and get out in your gardens or containers on your porch and love the soil and plants!!! yay!
A timely and informative article....Walden is one of my favourite books and I'm inspired to live a simpler
Life in 09 and beyond....happy new year.....
Chapter 2 of my book Ecology without Nature is about this--it's a syndrome I call Beautiful Soul Syndrome (or BS for short). It's available from amazon and all good booksellers.
Quick reality check: Read this article, or read all of Walden? Walden. Case closed. Nice try, but you are a pimple on the ass of Thoreau, and you have no idea how facile and shallow you are. I'll look for the hound, the horse,and the dove, thanks. I assume you'll text yourself, or google yourself. No wait, I know--go [deleted] yourself. Thanks for the waste of time.
So Beavan has no television. Doesn't maintaining a website 'zero-impact' the lack of a television?
Some few years ago, a local radio station polled people on how much they spent on clothes annually. After review, I realized I had spent $4.00 on two used shirts in the last two years.
This article ilustrates my belief that the current economic crisis is brought on us by the wealthy. People with money to spend choose to not spend it, rather they simply continue to accumulate wealth in a different form and think they are doing something worthwhile.
I don't think that deprivation per se was Henry Thoreau's concern. He had seen his neighbors unhappy in their lives, and heard them say they had no choice. So, the experiment to determine the level of necessity - the point being that anything beyond that was a matter of choice. He is saying, "Live the life you want", not "Live like me."
This article sounds like New York Magazine a bit. I think the main reason to stop consuming so much is you start to feel like less of a sucker. I had a sales job where it was deemed important by management to sport an expensive watch. I spent 4K on a watch. it was heavy, needed to be reset constantly. I felt like such a dufus. The watch wore me, I joked.
anyway, it led me to stop buying expensive crap. expensive i learned did not mean better. soon i started just not buying things -- even if i longed for them. guess what? generally, the craving did not last. it was weird to be aware of my own cravings -- what was in me, this strong feeling of need for this or that? Now I am starting to just appreciate what I own.
I do think it is cheaper to do this, and I think it also gives us a way to explore "what really matters" as a question in our lives. plus i feel like less of a sucker -- and also less of a metrosexual, and more like an ordinary man.
TBS
In our town we have a guy who offers advice on how to live without working.
He's written seven books on the subject.
you guys need to read Gita in the woods to arrive at Thoreau's conclusion
Where could I find this
Where could I find this book? Or better who would give me that? Ben at panic away review and pit bike sale guide
wow. what a fun great read. i love your writing!
I love reading the angry comments--sounds like the piece hit too close to home. Still laughing.
the idea that public libraries only offer dusty library books is wrong. if a public library doesn't own a book it will borrow it usually for free for you thru its interlibrary loan service.
substitute consumerism with creativity not self denial. don't be a monk! puritans create desire for what they deny, dig? the ego attaches to the repressed desire only to reemerge as guilt. now we have christianity with a green face!
thanx
I had the fortunate experience to live similarly to most folks of the world for over five years. I had no electricity, but I had "run and get it water", and an outhouse. It was a good time for me. I was given time to live.
I didn't have to spend time laboring for someone else to pay for those things I could provide myself, or didn't really need. Now that I live in the"modern Society", I have no time and many more needs.
Mud
