The average Swiss person owns around 10,000 items. Books, cutlery, cups, plates, CDs, trousers, socks.... the list is very long. We have remained hunters and collectors, although times have changed.
But for a few years now, a counter-movement has been conquering the western world. Tidy, clean, airy and light is the trend. Bestselling author and tidying guru Marie Kondo has been showing us how to do it since 2019 in her Netflix series. According to the KonMarie method, we all have to take our 10,000 objects in hand before we can part with them, saying thank you or not.
Our overloaded, hectic lives are supposed to get better when we only have a few favourite things that we also use or admire every day.
Post-materialism was already an issue in the 1970s. The hippies, the so-called '68 generation, also portrayed the renunciation of comsum as ideal. Later, in the 1980s, society was more materialistic and success-oriented.
Does the new wave of minimalism have more potential?
The current movement has no political agenda. It's about a clean lifestyle, where you surround yourself with far fewer things. However, you own very high-quality, beautiful things. Critics would say that you have to be able to afford such a high-end lifestyle.
Conclusion:
Minimalism as a pure question of style does not solve any problems. However, it is certainly suitable as an impulse to rethink.
Source summary: Der Standard, 26.1.20, Olivera Stajic
