Our society today is strongly based on the free-market assumption that prosperity and a higher quality of life go hand in hand with strong consumption.
What drives you to buck this trend and consciously consume less? What are your guiding principles that help you make decisions in everyday life?
It is still a core thesis of the neoclassical economic theory on which our western, capitalist society is strongly based. It assumes that people always want to maximise their gains and achieve this by increasing consumption. Yet we, as minimalists, and people who maintain a sustainable lifestyle are the perfect counterexample.