Japan’s Quiet Rebellion Against Growth: Instead of striving for more, Japan simply chose less

That's a good thing. We all should do that.

Please edit the UTM trackers out of the link to: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/31/2336178/-Japan-s-Quiet-Rebellion-Against-Growth-Instead-of-striving-for-more-Japan-simply-chose-less

Me too, Japan, me too.

This is a natural reaction to having constrained resources and being informed about one's choices.

If people had enough money to feel comfortable, and lived in a world that wasn't dying, they would want to participate in society and the economy more.

Very interesting, inspiring even.

Not long ago I saw a factoid to the effect that Japan had attained a kind of equilibrium where population contraction was making economic growth unnecessary (after all: less people for same economic output, so the virtual effect is expansion). It's a striking idea, it would be interesting to hear more about it.

Sounds awesome. We should all do more of this (if the privilege exists).

Zhao is careful to distinguish between people who choose to want less and those who fail to act on their desires out of despair.

Are they really different? I could start in despair and then tell myself that's what I want. I think I do that with many things I don't have, basically turn my envy or desire into contempt for those who have those things.