Is being thrifty a virtue?

Question 1

save up for a rainy day

Answer 1

to keep some money back in case of unforeseen emergencies.

Today’s consumer culture encourages us to ‘spend, spend, spend’, but it hasn’t always been that way. The Victorians for example told people to ‘save up for a rainy day’, meaning to keep some money back in case of unforeseen emergencies.

Question 2

thrift

Answer 2

‘Thrift’ is not a simple idea to define. It’s to do with living a simple life free from the need to constantly buy the latest products.

There are two dictionary definitions of thrift. The older of the two comes from the word ‘thrive’ etymologically, and described thrift as the ability to live well and to flourish, so it’s that sense of human flourishing. The more recent definition is the one we’re probably more familiar with which is about frugality

Thrift = Thrive/Flourish + Frugality

Question 3

flourish

Answer 3

grow or develop successfully.

There are two dictionary definitions of thrift. The older of the two comes from the word ‘thrive’ etymologically, and described thrift as the ability to live well and to flourish, so it’s that sense of human flourishing.

It seems the oldest definition of ‘thrift’ has nothing to do with saving money and is connected to the verbs ‘thrive’ and ‘flourish’

Question 4

frugality

Answer 4

being careful not to spend too much money or eat too much food.

The older of the two comes from the word ‘thrive’ etymologically, and described thrift as the ability to live well and to flourish, …
The more recent definition is the one we’re probably more familiar with which is about frugality.
The Puritans believed that being frugal was a religious virtue and that people ought to save money in order to give to others in need.

Question 5

agenda

Answer 5

specific aim or reason for a particular group to do something.

All of that said, it’s been used historically of course by various people in various moments in various different places in very different ways and they’ve often had a social or religious agenda.
Throughout history then, there have been different versions of ‘thrift’, and this may be because different religions or social groups had their own agenda

Question 6

basic needs

Answer 6

the basic necessities needed to survive, like food, clothes and shelter, and nothing extra.

It’s the idea that once people had enough to meet their kind of basic needs there was this kind of moral slide into consumerism.

Question 7

moral slide

Answer 7

decline in standards of moral (good, fair and honest) behaviour.

It’s the idea that once people had enough to meet their kind of basic needs there was this kind of moral slide into consumerism. It’s not a view that I subscribe to in a simplistic sense myself … .

Alison mentions that once these basic needs were satisfied, people moved away from thrift into consumerism, the desire to buy ‘luxury’ products which were not absolutely necessary. According to some, this created a moral slide

Question 8

truism

Answer 8

something that is so obviously true it is not worth saying.

There’s no point denying that, certainly in the developed world, there’s been a rise in consumer capitalism, that’s just a truism, but thrift hasn’t declined.

Thrift = Thrive/Flourish + Frugality