Would it be good or bad for our economy? Would America survive? Tell us your thoughts!
This is what Clark says: If Everyone Acted As Frugal as Clark, Would the American Economy Collapse?
You have to have no faith in capitalism to believe that.
Entrepreneurs would start emphasizing low price for products over features and after-sale service. The economy would roll on.
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It might not collapse entirely, but it would definitely be in trouble.
It would change.
A higher savings rate would lower the cost of capital. That’s a good thing. That’s one factor that helped power Japan up from the ashes of World War Two.
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No, it wouldn’t collapse for a couple of reasons:
- It would never be everyone
- Being frugal is usually a means to an end: to become financially independent and comfortable. Once people become sustainably independent and comfortable, they can spend more freely. The key is to remain disciplined and keep your spending within your means.
This is a great philosophical question. Yes, its unlikely it would be “everyone” being this thrifty at our current state of humanity but someday i think humans will move out of their mindless spending era. Clark is too wise to buy into the fads and overpriced trends that our economy depends on. Most Americans are not yet there since they think buying stuff in a nice shiny bag makes them fulfilled. When more evolution happens, if we survive as a species long enough to allow for it, the economy as it is now would collapse entirely. Judging from the state of the world right now this potential “evolution” is probably quite a ways away. Of course if we humans continue in our destructive ways, the economy along with humanity will be destroyed anyways. Wow, i think ill stop now. Sorry to be so alarmist.
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