The core material for understanding the Renegade Consumer movement.
These essays are all adapted from the forthcoming book Renegade Consumer: The Battle for Your Economic Freedom. More excerpts from the book will be published here regularly.
Original material that parallels or is being developed into book content, or may be too ephemeral for book inclusion, will be found posted in the Observations blog.
Renegade Basics
Here are some introductory essays that frame the problem, and why it applies to all of us. Most newcomers will find it best to read these essays in order, as the content and concepts in later entries build on that of prior ones.
- Consumerism 101 - The basics of the problem
- A Vision of the Wasteland - The consequences of consumerism
- The Cycle of Consumption - The mechanics of fostered consumption
- Rules for Renegades - Some easy guidelines for the novice renegade
Renegade Economics for Individuals
These three shorter essays detail an alternate way to look at personal spending and family economics. Underestimating how much real wealth you are spending on consumer goods is the major mistake most people make—and the sellers are happy to help you deceive yourself. Here's the road out of that deception:
- Total Cost - Costing out consumption
- The DBI Factor - Figuring the extended cost of overconsumption
- The RCU Factor - Calculating the real cost of possessions
The Renegade Movement
Here are some guiding thoughts for the movement's development and focus.
- The Renegade Movement Defined - An introduction to what we are
- Renegade Boundaries - An introduction to what we aren't
- The Quagmire of Illusory Solutions - An introduction to what we never want to be
Declaration of War: The Short Form
And here's the foundation: the formal definition of the Renegade Consumer movement. The annotated version explains the document section by section.