In a previous post, Don’t egg me on, I noted parenthetically that I destest the word and concept of “lifestyle.” I can’t really explain why this term bothers me so much (except perhaps that I am chagrined by the number of people who think I sound like Robin Leach, the presenter of the happily defunct ”Rich and Famous” lifestyles show).
Wikipedia informs us that:
Lifestyle was originally coined by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler in 1929… A lifestyle is a characteristic bundle of behaviors that makes sense to both others and oneself in a given time and place, including social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dress.
I think it is the intimate link between consumption and lifestyle that infuriates me. There seems to be an assumption that, if one adopts a certain lifestyle, then one can get away with scandalously extravagant consumerism. In my view, we need less lifestyle and more simple, humble living. Am I turning into Abe Simpson? [For those not into the animated series, Abe is Homer's father and a certified curmudgen.]
