How easy would it be for someone, individually and personally, to start a revolution? Actually, for many of us, it would be easier than you might think. This is how to do it: don't buy one thing you don't really need today. Certainly, don't buy it with borrowed money. Rinse and repeat tomorrow.
I say this not from a patronising or didactic high perch, but as someone who has struggled with personal debt and continues to struggle with its aftermath, but who is also beginning to reap the fruits of this simple but difficult adjustment in attitude. I say it not through a lack of understanding that the poorest are already only spending primarily on essentials and are driven further into debt by a rigged system in which the less one has, the more everything costs. I say it precisely because I have been there and understand its long-term implications. A refusal to over-consume, choosing the generic over the branded, a rationalisation of expenses: all this is the only practical personal resistance available.
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