How To Own Nothing And Be Happy (Revisited)

Dusting Off the Infamous Article That Started It All - Or Hasn't It?

Ida Auken, the proponent of a world where we will supposedly own nothing and be happy, seems to have embraced a brand of socialism akin to that of Bernie Sanders. Yet, she ironically advocates for a future where we will indeed own nothing. This notion has been circulating in conferences for years, accompanied by discussions on universal income and the plight of those unable to secure better-paying opportunities.

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Meanwhile, the privileged elite, those who own more than the rest of us combined, have acknowledged the escalating issue of the working class grappling with the rising cost of living and the dearth of well-paying jobs. Their solution? They propose that we should own nothing at all. This smacks of a new form of neo-feudalism, devoid of the struggle of the working man and the concept of work itself.

Auken, in her now infamous World Economic Forum column, paints a picture of the year 2030. She welcomes us to her city, or should I say, our city. She owns nothing - no car, no house, no appliances, no clothes. Everything she once considered a product is now a service. From transportation to accommodation, food, and other daily necessities, they have all become free, rendering ownership obsolete.

One might mistake this for a Dr. Seuss novel, but Auken assures us that it makes perfect sense in their city. This is the future they are preparing for us — a future where we are reduced to consumers, reliant on the benevolence of the elite for our survival.

“Why do you wanna own your cell phone? I mean, you want the function. You want the service. Right? Why do you wanna own a cell phone if you can just lease it? And if you lease, why shouldn't you lease your refrigerator or your washing machine or your dishwasher? Or why do you wanna own it? […]. It's like, I own a broke dishwasher.”— Ida Auken

In the not-so-distant future of 2030, our city has transformed into a socialist utopia where private property is a thing of the past. Ida Auken, in her naive optimism, paints a picture of a world where your living room is a communal space for business meetings when you're not home, and your kitchen is utilized by drone-delivered chefs whenever you've finished cooking. She seems to have forgotten that this brave new world is built upon the ashes of personal freedom and property rights.

Auken marvels at the spotless air and water, but fails to recognize that this illusion of environmental stewardship is merely a façade. The protected areas of nature, deemed too valuable to touch, are nothing more than a cynical attempt to hide the true cost of this supposed utopia. The destruction of the wilderness continues unabated, but now it's hidden from sight, tucked away in the shadows of our gleaming, green cities.

The shopping experience has been reduced to a mere selection of items for use and borrowing, with an algorithm dictating our tastes and preferences. Auken reminisces about the joy of picking things out for herself, but seems to happily ignore that this new system is built upon the relinquishment of individual choice and autonomy. The algorithm, like a digital overlord, knows her better than she knows herself.

Auken speaks of a time when AI and robots took over our jobs, leaving us with more time for leisure and creativity. But she fails to address the harsh reality faced by those who couldn't adapt to this new world order. The workers left behind, deemed obsolete and useless, were forced to flee to the margins of society, clinging to outdated technology and ways of life.

This supposed utopia, as Auken describes it, is nothing more than a mirage, built upon the broken promises of progress and the complete erasure of personal freedom. The so-called Davos elite have embraced this new world order, turning their backs on the very principles that once made our society great.

In this brave new world, the disenchanted have retreated to 19th-century villages, clinging to the remnants of a bygone era. They have chosen to reject the false promises of progress and the tyranny of the algorithm, instead embracing the values of hard work, self-reliance, and community.

As Auken extols the virtues of this new world order, one can't help but question the true cost of this so-called utopia. The erosion of personal freedom, the destruction of the wilderness, and the loss of individual choice are just a few of the sacrifices made in the name of progress. In this world, the algorithm knows best, and the individual is but a cog in the great machine of society.

Auken and her friends are willing to sacrifice the very foundation of personal freedom: privacy. They naively believe that a world where every action, thought, and dream is recorded is preferable to the perceived chaos of the past. The so-called “terrible things” of the old society, such as lifestyle diseases, pollution, and social unrest, are held up as justification for this new world order.

But this vision of a society where ownership is a thing of the past and individuals are reduced to mere peons, existing only to “hang out,” is nothing more than a hollow facade. The erosion of privacy, the very foundation of personal freedom, is casually dismissed as a necessary sacrifice for the greater good.

This vision of the future is not a bold new world, but rather a tired retread of dystopian tales of the past. From “Logan's Run” to “1984,” these stories serve as tales of the dangers of a society where individuality is suppressed and conformity is the norm.

The promise of a life free from work and responsibility may sound appealing at first, but the reality is far from idyllic. The loss of personal freedom, the dehumanization of the individual, and the erosion of privacy are just a few of the costs of this supposed utopia.

Auken may see this new world as a way to solve the problems of the past, but the true cost of this brave new world is the loss of the very things that make us human: our individuality, our freedom, and our privacy.

One might argue that the benefits of this new society outweigh the costs, but the erosion of privacy is a slippery slope. Once the door is opened to government surveillance, it is difficult to close. The potential for abuse and the suppression of dissenting voice are all too real.

The loss of privacy is not just a personal sacrifice, but a societal one. When the government has access to every aspect of our lives, it has the power to shape and control our behavior. This is not a future to be embraced, but a dystopian nightmare to be avoided at all costs.

In this world, the individual is no longer an individual, but a mere statistic, a number in a database. The loss of privacy is a loss of humanity, a loss of the very things that make us who we are.

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Some topics discussed in the 1981 movie “My Dinner with André,” are exactly the same as the ones circulating today that the establishment dismisses as “conspiracy theories.” The notion that these theories are merely the deluded fabrications of a few unhinged minds is a convenient narrative, one that serves to distract from the uncomfortable truth. In reality, these theories often originate from a seed of truth, a mere hint of evidence that sparks curiosity and skepticism.

The Great Reset, 15-Minute-Cities, and the Surveillance Grid, once scoffed at as the rantings of paranoid fools, have been slowly but surely validated by the very architects of these plans. Figures like Klaus Schwab, Ida Auken, and many others have freely discussed their visions of a dystopian future, where the masses are reduced to mere automatons, subject to the whims of an elite few.

The fact that these “conspiracies” have endured for decades, only serves to underscore their legitimacy. It's almost as if they're taunting us, daring us to connect the dots, to recognize the sinister patterns that have been staring us in the face all along.

The enduring nature of these “conspiracies” also underlines their authenticity. The Great Reset, with its promise of a “sustainable” future, is nothing more than a euphemism for a harsh system of control. 15-Minute-Cities, hailed as bastions of innovation and progress, are in fact surveillance states, designed to monitor and regulate every facet of human life. And the Surveillance Grid, that all-encompassing network of cameras, sensors, and algorithms, is the ultimate instrument of oppression, a means to suppress dissent and uphold the status quo.

The irony is that those who promote these schemes, who present themselves as visionaries and philanthropists, are the very same individuals who have brought humanity to the precipice of ruin. They are the ones who have plundered the planet, exploited the downtrodden, and perpetuated inequality.

And yet, we are expected to place our trust in them, to believe that their latest utopian dream is anything more than an egoistic power grab, a ploy to maintain their stranglehold on humanity.

“And when I was at Findhorn I met this extraordinary English tree expert […]. And when I met him at Findhorn he said to me, ‘Where are you from?’ And I said, ‘New York.’ And he said, ‘Ah, New York, yes, that’s a very interesting place. Do you know a lot of New Yorkers who keep talking about the fact that they want to leave, but never do?’ And I said, ‘Oh, yes.’ And he said, ‘Why do you think they don’t leave?’ And I gave him different banal theories. And he said, ‘Oh, I don’t think it’s that way at all. ‘He said, ‘I think that New York is the new model for the new concentration camp, where the camp has been built by the inmates themselves, and the inmates are the guards, and they have this pride in this thing that they’ve built—they’ve built their own prison—and so they exist in a state of schizophrenia where they are both guards and prisoners. And as a result they no longer have—having been lobotomized—the capacity to leave the prison they’ve made or even to see it as a prison.’ And then he went into his pocket, and he took out a seed for a tree, and he said, ‘This is a pine tree.’ And he put it in my hand. And he said, ‘Escape before it’s too late.’” — Wallace Shawn, My Dinner With André

The appeal of smart cities, presented as the epitome of technological advancement, masks a darker reality. These urban grids, where every citizen and action is meticulously watched over, echo the Mark of the Beast narrative from religious texts. Some may scoff at these comparisons, but consider this: As we've adapted to chip technology in our credit cards, what prevents a mandatory ID system?

This isn't conjecture; it's an unavoidable consequence of excessive state control. For instance, former Microsoft executive Nathan Shedroff has proposed “ubiquitous computing” or “calm technology,” which integrates microchips into everyday items like clothes and furniture for identification purposes. A concept that has already been widely adopted.

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Universal basic income, embraced by elites such as the World Economic Forum, Davos, Bilderberg, and George Soros, carries ominous implications. When the state functions as your only provider, any deviation against their rules results in punishment.

For instance, the United Nations has proposed regulations that restrict individual access to meat due to its environmental impact. These elites propose policies for “public interest,” but there's no boundary to how deeply they can meddle into your life.

In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, citizens receive their daily allotment of soma as a means of maintaining conformity and social stability. Could it be that mandatory happiness pills or antidepressants in the water are just around the corner?

The clutches of the nanny state don't stop here; they decide when and how you express control over your body. In a world where individual freedoms have been eroded, rules for “public good” become absolute.

For example, China has implemented a social credit system that restricts access to services based on citizens' behavior. The United Nations has already declared war on red meat, imposing taxes to combat climate change. Could it be that mandatory vaccinations or medical treatments are coming next?

The young generations, groomed to embrace uniformity and steer clear of offense, fit neatly into this dystopian society. They've been conditioned not to purchase homes or cars, marry, or have families — they can't even manage their way out of a paper bag without Google.

Freedom, once cherished, is replaced by the all-pervading Internet and social media. According to a study published in the journal “Child Development,” children spend an average of 45 hours per week interacting with screens.

The millennials, a generation meticulously crafted to be utterly dependent on the digital leash, stripped of the most basic human instincts and desires. They're conditioned to shun the very notion of independence, instead embracing a life of perpetual surveillance and control.

The thrill of getting a driver's license at 16, a rite of passage symbolizing freedom, is now a distant memory. Today, they're more likely to be found still living with their parents at 30, oblivious to the concept of autonomy.

Privacy, a relic of the past, has been systematically dismantled in the minds of these digital natives. They've grown accustomed to sharing every intimate detail of their lives online, surrendering to the all-seeing eye of the digital panopticon.

The idea of privacy is nothing more than a quaint anachronism, a nostalgic relic of a bygone era. The Bilderberg Group's rhetorical question, “Does privacy exist?” was a cynical acknowledgment of their successful campaign to eradicate this fundamental human right.

Gen Z are being groomed for a dystopian future, where the “smart grid city” will monitor and control every aspect of their lives. Every appliance, every device, and every sensor will be connected to the Internet, transmitting real-time data on their every move, every consumption habit, and every thought. The authorities will be alerted if they fail to conform to the prescribed norms of sustainability, and their every action will be dictated by the cold, calculating logic of the collective system.

In this Orwellian nightmare, the notion of personal autonomy will be a distant memory. The air conditioning will be adjusted for you, your energy consumption will be monitored, and your every thought will be subject to scrutiny.

The bed you sleep in won't be yours; it will be a mere extension of the all-pervasive surveillance state. And as for the notion of privacy in one's own brain, forget it. That's a luxury reserved for the relics of a bygone era, like me, who refuse to surrender to this Brave New World.

Privacy, regarded as a beloved freedom from our pasts, has been revoked. The new generations have become habituated to sharing every aspect of their lives on computers, filming themselves and being watched - it's routine now. The idea of privacy is dissolved, replaced by a surveillance society that thrives off real-time data. In George Orwell's 1984, citizens are constantly monitored and punished for deviating from the norm.

The society these elites are pushing us into is a dystopian nightmare that's already unfolding in slow motion.

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