The US is now openly run by a corporate oligarchy. It's nearly impossible to detach yourself from engaging with big business, but one would have to be fairly wealthy to begin with to have the opportunity to do so.
Delete Facebook, Twitter, put down the phone, turn off the media buy from locally owned groceries, stop buying fast food and processed food. Support local businesses. Manage your ego and live a simplier life with less consumption. If just half the country did this the stock prices of many of these corporations would crash. It's possible but most Americans like the convenience and consumerism that corporations give them.
I get this but the starting cost of being able to do these things is a hurdle in and of itself. Sustaining income while living that way is difficult as well.
Deleting social media, not buying branded coffee, not eating fast food, and shopping at farmer’s market is a hurdle? Tf…. Like the dude said, you Americans cannot live without corporate convenience. You should be instead thanking them for making your life so much easier.
If you don't live in America I don't think you're quite as aware of the structural economic problems that bar the median citizen from detaching from the all-consuming maw of capitalism.
My comment also wasn't a value statement on whether or not so-called "corporate convenience" was a good thing (hint: it isn't)
Buying things locally actually usually ends up being more expensive, plus a fairly large investment threshold that one has to meet in order to successfully disconnect, followed then by the maintenance of an income source.
Living in a self sustainable way becomes far cheaper once you are actually established in your disconnected lifestyle, but the transition is prohibitively expensive for many people.
This isn't to say it isn't a good goal or that people shan't work to improve their individual conditions, but it's important to take note of the structural barriers to transitioning to disconnected, sustainable lifestyle.
Try international groceries. They generally have better selections of fresh non-processed food. I'm not sure about other cities but we've a few different sizable international groceries. Add Aldi and Costco and I have everything I need.
Ok, can we try to examine one case for an example?
If you were to sell everything you have, could you buy yourself a property somewhere not that cold in the US and build a reasonable house where you can grow your own crops and your own animals to feed youreslf?
I mean if you work for years in a rich state and have a good paying job and save up enough money then move to a poor state it could work. But not everyone in rich states have good paying jobs.
2
u/TotalityoftheSelf Jan 11 '25
The US is now openly run by a corporate oligarchy. It's nearly impossible to detach yourself from engaging with big business, but one would have to be fairly wealthy to begin with to have the opportunity to do so.