Affluence Without Abundance Quotes

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing.” —Seneca”
― James Suzman, Affluence Without Abundance: The Disappearing World of the Bushmen

“This double perspective also brings the differences between foraging and production cultures—like our own—into vivid if sometimes uncomfortable relief. It reveals how our sense of time shapes and is shaped by our economic thinking; why, despite our obsession with celebrity and leadership, we take such pleasure in seeing the successful stumble and why we object so viscerally to inequality when we feel ourselves to be the victims of it. It also invites us to query how, why, and to what we ascribe value; how we understand affluence, satisfaction, and success; and how we define development, growth, and progress. Perhaps most importantly it reveals how much of our contemporary economic and cultural behavior—including the conviction that work gives structure and meaning to our lives, defines who we are, and ultimately empowers us to master our own destinies—is a legacy from our transition from hunting and gathering to farming.”
― James Suzman, Affluence Without Abundance: The Disappearing World of the Bushmen