Conversation

nick barr
@nsbarr
With the arrival of her Netflix special, thought I'd dust off one of my hottest takes: Marie Kondo as consumerist nightmare. ➡️
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nick barr
@nsbarr
Most people imagine the Japanese minimalism stereotype when they think "KonMari." But this could only be the home of someone for whom things do not generally spark joy. Otherwise, their home would be full of things.
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nick barr
@nsbarr
To maximize our joy, KonMari implies that we should ingest and excrete a firehose of things. This is an ultra-consumerist idea. To see it in action, don't look to tidy homes. Instead look to Akihabara, buffets, subscription toothbrushes and underwear, Snapchat.
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nick barr
@nsbarr
"We should be choosing what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of." This is a radical and liberating concept. But those who depend on things to spark joy will endlessly guzzle from the firehose, their thirst never quenched, their hard drive never full.
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nick barr
@nsbarr
Replying to
@andy_matuschak
Kondo writes lovingly of a raggedy old t-shirt she has. and something like a great durable pair of jeans can spark a lot of joy. But for most, novelty will spark more joy than durability. Hard to see how KonMari does anything to challenge that mindset
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