Limitarianism

It’s a funny thing, money. Sometimes I’ve had it, sometimes I haven’t. One thing I’m really glad to have learnt early on is that when I’ve had absolutely tons of it, though it has provided ‘stuff’, it hasn’t correlated with my deep happiness/contentment with life. And sure I love to spend it, sure. For reals. Comfort shopping and splashing it now and then, sure. Who doesn’t like buying treats when they can, eh?

I appreciate if you’re struggling you’ll want to get hold of some cash to remove that huge stressor of worry about food and housing; we all need the basics in place; absolutely. Zero shame on anyone who’s not doing too well with cash; that’s me fairly regularly too ~ and will likely be the majority of the people reading this blog. But I do think we can go too far the other way, and have our lives ruled by money; those who’ve done that always seem to be on a bit of a journey; and a bit of a crap one at that.

If you don’t know anyone who’s long-term rich, I can see that logic would suggest ‘some money’ = ‘stability & happiness’ … and therefore surely ‘lots more money’ = ‘lots more stability & happiness’, but honestly 100% of the most teeth-grindingly miserable of my extensive collection of relatives are the richest. Sure we all know examples of ‘happy’ rich people; but beware appearances, everyone likes to present a certain mask. Especially online, and especially the nouveau riche. Dig beneath the skin of the long-term super-monied and [in my experience], you will always find serious dysfunction, loneliness and misery, plus the mask required to hide it.

Which is partly why I’ve always turned down the offers I get of Patreon support or payment for my comics; nothing wrong with earning money, but I have enough. Unlike the clutching, hoarding millionaires, I have learnt to be content with what I have. Chinese takeaways are still a treat. My phone is relatively crap but you know what … I can still use it to message people; remember that was the point of those things? Exactly. And I work sort of hard-ish a few days a week, and make the money I need to, which means I can live life all the rest of the time! Yay! That’s the way it should be, I think. That’s what I’ve been aiming for, anyway; nothing to prove.

Plato argued that the richest should own no more property than four times that of the poorest. Pretty brutal, sounds good to me. It’s a bit of a shame when you see how money-obsessed or work-obsessed people can get, and then you realise the pressures on them from a million directions; let’s face it the whole late-capitalism thing’s flipping awful, really.

Grievance politics fuelled by tossers. Lives lost to the mill of … what? People trapped in subscription agreements with bugger-all to do and zero time to do it in. Multiple jobs, ‘hustle’ culture, scant few vacation days traded like precious little ‘extras’. All the enrichment of a battery chicken. Makes me very sad, what our global inability to tax the rich and properly distribute resources has done to us as a species. Especially recently, when Fascism is growing like the predictable infected puss-filled polyp on the neck of the profiteer.

I do realise I’m also incredibly privileged; to live among countries with work ethics, where I get free education and healthcare, free basics, cheap travel, my income is taxed mostly at 20%, and most importantly easy access to an incredible selection of sixteenth-century pubs! I can walk out of my busy little home and enjoy ten different genres of live music, foods from around the world, friendships with people of completely random ages and sexualities and religious beliefs. The more I think about it, the more I realise how lucky I am to be able to do any of that.

But perhaps things are changing, perhaps people want something more for their lives than mere survival. Comparison. Appearances.

Here’s a nice example from Japan, where the megacity of Tokyo is perhaps beginning to lose its appeal: https://www.ft.com/content/329ce4f5-cc41-4cfe-8248-136df12936ba . Or the large-scale movements predicted in China: https://www.economist.com/china/2026/01/26/china-fears-a-flood-of-unemployed-workers-in-rural-areas

There are enough resources on the planet, if only we could learn to be content. And if we could do that, perhaps we would all be free to be whoever we are? Free to laugh and cavort with whomsoever we choose, without being labelled and killed. That’d be nice. And perhaps in order to achieve that, we simply need to reject the bullshit capitalist media circus perpetrated by billionaires and … as I always like to conclude … eat the rich. I am not advocating for cannibalism, but for Limitarianism. It’s where my thinking has been for many years.

There is good news. Recent fiascos abroad (ahem Elon ahem) have pushed agendas that have been on the back-burner for too long. Australia is already moving to seriously limit political donations across the board. There’ve been similar rumblings from other parliaments too; we had this happen shortly after Ukraine was invaded, the people of Norway who had been umming and ahhing about joining Nato for decades suddenly waking up and saying “Um yep, maybe it’s a good idea. Fuck Putin” ~ radical situations galvanise radical movements.

Don’t take this as a justification for the despicable voting that has happened in America, but looking for the light; perhaps this polyp, this rectum, this fetid Faustian stack they call ‘The Orange One’ is what it will take for cultures to begin to actually change laws relating to the vast and grotesque hoarding of wealth.

We can hope.

And in the meantime …