A newspaper article caught my eye yesterday.  From the Globe and Mail, it says

A liberation creed for consumers: Think small

Those of us who are treading the path to less and fewer can hardly be surprised that writer Rob Carrick has noticed the “living small” movement and espouses it.

Let’s get a few things straight about the Think Small philosophy of spending.

It’s not about self-denial, extreme frugality, going back to nature, reducing your carbon footprint, veganism, communism, adopting a monastic lifestyle or otherwise preventing you from having all the toys you want.

Think Small is a liberation creed for consumers. Buy smaller homes and cars and spend the money you save on other things.

It appears Mr. Carrick is writing a series of articles about the movement.  The week before he wrote about the joy of spending less on cars.

Now here is what surprises me.  The Globe and Mail, like most media in Canada (this blog and CBC radio are the exception) makes its money entirely through advertising.  Advertising makes its money by convincing people that they should buy things they don’t need.

Right now, the articles suggest paying less for your cars and houses — and buying other stuff, “spend the money you save on other things.”

But you and I know that the secret to living small is NOT spending money on things.

Hmmmm……so if we spend less and less on stuff, will there be more advertising, or less? Will newspapers and broadcasting be able to survive? Is Mr. Carrick writing himself out of a job?