This text was originally published on my former blog typeoneminimalist.com. The website has been offline since 2020. This is an archive version.

How will a minimalist lifestyle impact the economy? What if everyone would become a minimalist? At first glance, it seems like minimalism could full-on ruin the economy we live in today. When nobody buys stuff, companies run out of business. However, this is only part of the story. The economy would still keep existing. It would just change.

Principles of minimalism

To give the issue some context let’s review what minimalism is about. Minimalism is about making more conscious decisions. It’s about asking yourself “Do I really need this?” before buying stuff and restraining from unnecessary consumption.

In this regard, buying more consciously means owning less. It’s a great way to make life simpler and find happiness in the things that matter. But how does this behaviour impact the global economy?

Consumerism

If everybody just stopped buying stuff overnight the impact would be significant. Most modern industries are based on consumerism – buying goods in ever-increasing amounts. Be it fast fashion, tech gadgets or packaged food. All these products only exist due to over-consumption. If nobody bought these products anymore, the according industries would suffer.

Buying more and more. That’s what our current economy is based on. Even sectors with a longer product-lifespan like the automobile industry would experience major cutbacks in a minimalist society. Because people would use their cars for an extended period of time. Minimalist consumers could impact nearly every industry and nearly every country on this earth.

As negative as this might sound – it’s not. Our current economy is far from perfect. It’s not sustainable, bad for the environment and often even violates human rights. Major changes are necessary in order to solve these problems.

Because our current habits won’t change anything. I like how Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus from The Minimalists describe it on their blog: “Using consumerism to stimulate the economy is like fixing a cracked mirror with a hammer.”

Other investments

It’s not that minimalists don’t spend any money at all. They just do it differently. Minimalists value experiences over possessions. They invest in traveling, concerts, theatres, art or high-quality goods. A minimalist economy would focus on these kinds of products.

Luckily, capitalism is flexible. Our economy adapts to supply and demand. If everyone bought less short-lived goods and more high-quality products or experiences, companies would have to rethink their business strategies. Let’s say everyone said, “Hey, let’s stop buying cheap fast fashion”. Fashion outlets wouldn’t be able to sustain their revenues. They would respond to the new demand and turn towards more sustainable, locally produced clothing.

A necessary change

Would it be possible to keep up the current size of the economy and therefore wealth if everyone became a minimalist? Probably not. Consumer investments would most likely still decline. Despite the shift in industries.

Also, a lot of countries would need to reinvent their economic strategy from the ground up. Especially states like China that currently act as production sites for the world. But even service-based countries such as Sweden would need to change. Because in the end, our existence is always based on the current societal order.

The reward for a change, however, is huge. We need it. Our current consumption habits aren’t sustainable. We’re destroying our planet and the list of solutions is short. A minimalist economy might be one of them. It focuses on more sustainability, more locality, and a better environment.

It’s happening

How to start this change? Well, it’s already happening. Slowly, but steadily. Minimalism is a growing movement. People have started to question their shopping decisions. Local stores are experiencing a comeback. Travelling is at an all-time high. Thrift shopping is becoming more and more popular.

Of course, the way to go is still long. The majority of the world’s population has no clue about buying consciously or minimalism. They have other things to worry about. But especially younger people in richer countries are becoming more aware of their decisions. The economy has already adapted and it will continue to do so. Because eventually, it will always adapt.