End of ascetism

Jan 23, 2025

Asceticism has always been a significant element of social life. It’s not that one has to be modest about something, but that it has to be ostentatious. Everybody has to see that this person is restraining himself. Otherwise asceticism has no meaning. It’s always a social thing.

Asceticism always starts among the richest, which is logical, and never goes all the way down. Poor people cannot distinguish themselves from their surroundings with modesty. So a ruler sits in his luxurious palace and restricts himself from eating. The a guru builds a modest hut in the garden of his luxurious villa, but he uses the facilities of the luxurious villa. Of course, if he were to give up that wealth and follow the path of poverty, in a short while no one would know about him.

You may still remember the relatively recent era of “voluntary frugality.” The wife of the chairman of the board would ride her bicycle to a second-hand store, have her picture taken, and then return to her six-bedroom mansion.

Only, for this to work, it must be clear that the modesty is voluntary. Which is a problem in this day and age of bankruptcies, layoffs and general impoverishment. It’s easy to suspect that the frugality isn’t voluntary at all. An ascetic commands respect, an impoverished nobleman does not.
In short, the Western world seems to have entered an era in which asceticism will have no place. The scissors will open in lifestyle.

Leave a Reply