A brief history of thrift

by Alison Hulme

This book surveys ‘thrift’ through its moral, religious, ethical, political, spiritual and philosophical expressions, focussing in on key moments such as the early Puritans and Post-war rationing, and key characters such as Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Smiles and Henry Thoreau. The relationships between thrift and frugality, mindfulness, sustainability, and alternative consumption practices are explained, and connections made between myriad conceptions of thrift and contemporary concerns for how consumer cultures impact scarce resources, wealth distribution, and the Anthropocene. Ultimately, the book returns the reader to an understanding of thrift as it was originally used - to ‘thrive’ - and attempts to re-cast thrift in more collective, economically egalitarian terms, reclaiming it as a genuinely resistant practice.

Genres: Nonfiction

152 pages, Hardcover

Published June 4, 2019

Reviews

[Terragyrl3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Off to a good start, but I got mired in the middle, to the point that I almost set the book aside permanently. But I’m so glad I persevered because the last few chapters were fantastic. So—five stars for the exploration of thrift. Five stars for discussing how to morph the concept of thrift from a puritanical, tsky kind of a concept, and to re-baptize it as a subversive, community-enriching concept. Zero stars for sometimes perplexing wording: example—TWICE in this slim volume the author’s word choice implies that David Thoreau learned concepts from Gandhi. (Is this just bad copyediting, or a true confusion in her mind?) And three stars for a clunky (IMO) academic middle portion of the book. It’s short enough that I recommend it to anyone motivated to learn how the concept of thrift might help humanity curb the worst effects of capitalism.

[Kloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful book! The author's passion pours through on every page, making this one of the most emotive AND well-informed, dense but highly readable non-fiction books I've read. I honestly cannot compliment it enough, reading this was a treat!

Chapter 7 (ecological thrift) resonated with me most, but each chapter merits attention by building up a solid, well-rounded understanding of the various conceptualisations of thift. This whole book is teeming with insights (personal, academic and historical!). The formation of consumer culture itself, and the potential for thrift as resistance was an interesting though-line, particularly.

I so enjoyed learning all this book had to teach me and the author's style of delivery had me smitten. A truly delectable read.