The "Less is more" Economy 6: Stories -

In today’s divided and volatile world, we need an outside-the-box, upending of values in order to achieve happiness. 100 years after the Bauhaus, the “Less is more” economy explores an abundant and fulfilling life by moving away from material/financial excess in order to unleash our true potential. Good-bye to the draining and endless competition for “more,” and good-bye to economic efficiency. It’s time to embrace our inherent power and resilience to start designing our own happiness.

We will keep updating this page add new stories. Please check back later, or sign up for our newsletters! If you have a story (or two) to share with us, please drop us a line from the contact form.

Discover many inspiring stories that leverage “less” – our own abilities and resilience that were left behind, unnoticed by the current economy – to generate boundless satisfaction and happiness. Welcome to the world of the “Less is more” economy where we design our own happiness.

Potential of the “Less is more” Economy
“Less is more” Stories

OTHER CHAPTERS

Chapter 1

Modern designers in the early 20th century embraced the notion of “less is more,” which revealed two sides of the same coin – the Jekyll-and-Hyde like character of “more,” and the surprisingly pure, natural and relatable quality of “less.” Find out how people’s relentless pursuit of economic growth often led to catastrophic results, and how people reacted to them resiliently to re-discover the power of “less.”

Chapter 2

We live in the most affluent society in history today. Then why are we feeling so divided, anxious and angry? It’s because our economy has a furious desire to control the entire planet using its lethal weapon: efficiency. It’s time to check if this is bringing us a sustainable happiness, because plenty of information and wisdom tells us that we are now heading towards the next global-scale crisis.

Chapter 3

Efficiency is about rewarding winners, which pits all of us against each other in fierce competition and division. But we are not ready to give up on efficiency, believing that it bring us “more,” which automatically bring us happiness. But is this true? Discover the real face of the “more” delivered by the efficiency-first economy, which is actually unable to address people’s higher needs such as love, esteem or self-accomplishment.

Chapter 4

It turns out that an economic system is, by design, driven by instinct and selfishness. As efficiency aggressively advances its agenda, “more” is unavoidably turned into “less,” and competition intensifies. It is finally time to “upgrade” our economy into a happiness-generating platform where we can exchange those things we really care about and seek. But how do we do that? We can start it by replacing efficiency with “design.”

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Potential of the “Less is more “Economy

The potential of the “Less is more” economy can emerge anywhere, once you apply “less is more” mindset and design. Considering the fact that efficiency-first economy often denies our abilities and passion as “inefficient” (how many times was your resume rejected when you were eager to work?), the outcome could be extraordinary if we could mobilize our latent power currently ignored and/or hibernating, and if we could turn sense of rejection and anger into constructive energy.

As discussed earlier, “less is more” is not limited to product design – although we have great examples such as MUJI, Patagonia, or even Steve Job’s Apple – new “constellations” will emerge if we can connect people’s shared behavioral potential in a way efficiency-first economy never did. Indeed, the biggest prospects are in the notions we have been rejecting as “inefficient.” You now know how “less” becomes “more,” and how “used are better than new.” If you apply the same value upending, new opportunities will emerge from perceived “negativity.” The most visible trend is minimalist lifestyle and decluttering, in which people are feeling happier by letting go their assets and owing a lot less. It tells us a lot to notice peoples’ love-hate (in either way, very intense emotion) feeling toward “KonMari,” Marie Kondo, the queen of decluttering who advocates “keep only belongings that spark joy.” Decluttering is definitely a litmus test to our instinct, whose mission is to keep telling us “more is better, go grab whatever you see.” Although it’s totally understandable that instinct tries to resist to “less,” it’s also inspiring to see that increasing number of people are finding ways to happily reconcile instinct and consciousness, and comfortably settling on the world of “less.”

Tiny house is also becoming popular as more people see “small” living environment not just affordable but also flexible, editable, mobile and sharable. Speaking of which, sharing is growing as a flexible and cheaper alternative to access products and services because it lets us overcome disadvantages of costly and wasteful exclusive ownership. Small-scale, unique creations by people are finding sizable markets thanks to the advanced technology that connect sellers and buyers directly, making uniqueness-deficient mass production look increasingly stale. And in this increasingly volatile world, temporary could have more opportunities than permanent or fixed, and being ambiguous could prove to be more resilient than something that is rigidly defined. Those upending of perceived values are applied not just to products but also to life style, processes, relationships, behavioral changes or systems. Opportunities are limitless.

Remember, the gist of economy is not money. It’s value exchange. As long as we can exchange what we care, appreciate and value for mutual benefits and to improve the quality of our lives, there should be a vibrant economy.

Organizations and people who embrace their own power, instead of external help to improve efficiency, are on the rise even within the current economic system. We are eager to hear from you about your experiences/passion to make our world happier, fulfilling place without worrying too much about how much we own or how competitive you are. This page will be constantly updated to showcase fresh stories from all over the world. Let’s make the “Less is more” economy happen in your community!

Potential Upending of Values in the “Les is more” Economy

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The “Less is more “Economy: Stories

The “Less is more” economy is quietly, slowly, but steadily increasing its presence. Everything that leverages our own ability, instead of external help for personal or mutual/collective benefits and happiness is “Less is more” economy, as long as it helps build economically resilient community/society. We are eager to hear from you about your experiences/passion to make our world happier, fulfilling place without worrying too much about how much we earn or what we have. This page will be constantly updated to showcase fresh stories from all over the world. Let’s make it happen in your community!