Escape Everything
In the spirit of In Praise of Idleness, this book quickly became near and dear to me. It is about the paradox of our modern life: that despite the high-scale automation of basically everything required to cover our basic needs, working 8 hours a day is still considered the norm. Most of us with an office job can relate to this. The author calls this The Trap.
Bohemian, artist, good companion, anarchist and explorer with a childlike curiosity - that is what an Escapologist wants to be, not a cogwheel in a gigantic producer-consumer machine, working in a job you don’t like, looking forward to the weekend, when you go shopping for things you don’t need, going home to a property that you can’t afford. I wholeheartedly agree with the efforts of trying to ditch this way of living. There is a way out of this, but it needs a radical change in lifestyle.
I love this book because it’s a perfect mix of philisophical thoughts, ethics and some general practical advice. It will not tell you how to set up your own small business, that’s not the intention. But it contains essential advice and some thought-provoking material. Witty and written in a friendly, reassuring tone - I will definitely read it again.
