we transitioned from capitalism to technofeudalism in 2008 and serfdom has only accelerated since

Sorry, but this one is just oats with sugar while the one above actually has fruit and nuts for that healthy boost.

You need a pinch of salt, trust me on this

That's not really a tiny home, that's just a slightly smaller house. They have a tiny home show where I live, and the biggest ones are 350-ish sq ft. Most are under 200. I'd love to get really crazy and build one that's like 400sq ft - when they're really well designed, that feels massive, but it's still small enough to clean in like, an hour.

800-1100

75 m² is pretty big for any European city. I have lived a very happy single life in a well optimized 24 m² city appartement.

If everyone is there because of some shared interest in the project then sure, it might work. But if you ever lived in a building owned by the very people that live there, like it happens all the time in Europe, you know people often act very much against the shared interest.

I started with my tiny home. And hope to gather some like-minded folks to turn it into a commune once I have basic infra to support more than just myself and my wife.

We are getting there! Maybe next year we will be able to invite one more family/couple/group.

I would actually love that. They're building something that's sort of in that vein where I live, where each family/individual has their own house of sorts, but there's a big communal building with a giant kitchen and dining space, library, living room, gardens, etc, instead of trying to pack all of that in each house. Everyone has to commit to contributing somehow, whether it's lawn maintenance or helping cook communal meals or whatever. Unfortunately, it would make my commute about an hour, so that's a no go, but it sounds nice.

Also this, yeah, as farming scales and technology enables farmers to be able to manage larger and larger swathes of land with less and less labor involved, more and more people congregate in central hubs, major cities, etc, which means more and more people are within walking distance of all the needs.

The point is, you almost definitely have way less shit on your property, than a middle or upper class family would have in the 1800s.

You probably dont have a whole ass horse stable, and separate living quarters for your stable hand, yes? And all the "stuff" that would be involved in maintaining that horse stable, and all the stuff that the stablehand would own for their own life, right?

And you likely dont have servants, and a cook, right? And all their stuff and their living quarters?

And your computer can hold an entire library worth of books on it, an entire blockbuster worth of VHS tapes in movies, etc etc?

And you probably dont have dozens and dozens of boxes of photographs in storage, right? All of that now can fit in your pocket in a single USB stick.

No matter what your trade or craft is, even ones that involve working with your hands, its extremely likely someone 200 years ago would have required like twice as much stuff to do it. Our tools have become smaller, compact, multi-use, storable, foldable, digital, etc etc.

We've gone from giant machines that took up entire rooms, to extremely powerful ones that take up a fraction of the space.

Think about something as simple as just printing off some pamphlets, do you know how much stuff was involved in that process 200 years ago?

Now, you can mass produce pamphlets with just your phone or a laptop and an inkjet printer.

I would say there certainly are a small handful of hobbies and skills that have not had much change in terms of downsizing. Weightlifting / exercise, for example, is largely functionally the same. Steel is still steel and you cant really "downsize" the fact you have a certain density, and you simply just have to live with that. People have tried to come up with countless fancy ways to downsize weightlifting but at the end of the day, a barbell is a barbell.

Sewing also hasn't changed dramatically in terms of scale either. Modern sewing machines arent that much different in size. Sure they have gotten a little bit more power in a bit smaller shape but, if you look up sewing machines from 200 years ago they, well, sorta still look the exact same not gonna lie.

But overall, most of the day to day living is just a LOT smaller and simpler. A small electric hand vacuum can do the work one handed in a few minutes that would have taken ages before. Microwaves cook food at extraordinary speeds that someone from a hundred years ago would absolutely consider borderline magic.

This thread blows my mind.

You'd prefer to just be boxed in with people all around you and concrete everywhere? That's what developers would do if they weren't required by law to give you space. Pack them into smaller spaces and get more money!

You could look into lawn alternatives. Here the rules are no weeds and vegetation can't be over 6 inches unless it is intentionally cultivated. So I have native plants in garden beds around my house that take up roughly 50% of the yard, and the "lawn" portion is mostly native groundcovers that are unlikely to reach above 6 inches. I rarely have to do anything to it since it's mostly native. We go out there maybe once a month to mow the little grass that's left (which we're phasing out as natives spread) and pull weeds.

It was a little more work up front to make beds and plant natives, but we did it the lazy way, starting out small and expanding over the years as natives grew and spread. We did temporary borders of cardboard with rocks on top to smother grass and expand out as needed.

I'm not shitting on suburbs. I don't like them though. And I don't just say “people should live in a way they enjoy”. If you would avoid twisting the words and reading until the end You would notice a whole sentence saying: "And One should be able to enjoy his mega mansion and his huge truck if he wants to too, providing it is done in environmentally safe way and all the taxes (and I mean appropriately and proportionally calculated taxes) are paid". If, by any chance, you are still reading, let me say that we are free to define the system of living in any way we want. And If you can find a way to do what you like in a way that is safe, constructive and not infringing on our planet and society - go for it!

I think You can have a huge house if You build it smart. Like 100 m long earth ship or something like that. I was a bit iffy about trucks though wen I wrote this, so I know what you mean. But if you scale back to normal not Murican size car/truck and go hydrogen or electric, it is still bad, but better than I can realistically hope for with current trends. I agree with your opinion about jobs. I feel that big corporations are allowed too much free space to do what they want. I love to see innovation that big resources can bring, but it is always being overshadowed by their exploitation and lobbying in self interest. There is not enough control and they always end up exploiting their position.

At that point - why don't just live in a motor home.

I think You hit a nail on it's head saying " This post is basically saying anyone who doesn’t consume - buying bigger houses and a meat and eggs breakfast - is a victim, which is just stupid". I agree.