pity that article is 2 1/2 years old
There is certainly a way of living where you can WOOF for a roof and foraging/skip delve for food. It is OK for the young and the healthy. There is something liberating about realising money isnt that important in the pursuit of happiness.
a person who receives support, advantage, or the like, from another or others without giving any useful or proper return, as one who lives on the hospitality of others.
This guy has been discused before. Most people agree that sponging isnt much a of survival effort.
However the concept of living on little expenditure is interesting. The man of the house has a book "make the most of your deer", it is interesting because once you take an animals life the book shows you not to waste a single resource you have. We do waste a lot, and we are beginning to face a time when we need to learn not to waste anything that is at our disposal. Our granparents cooked in dripping they saved, and we drizzle imported olive oil, and bin the fat on our bacon go figure. They could do a chicken on sunday and still be eating the stock on thursday.
There is certainly a way of living where you can WOOF for a roof and foraging/skip delve for food. It is OK for the young and the healthy. There is something liberating about realising money isnt that important in the pursuit of happiness.
My brother is an example of the scavenger/skip diver par excellence but he works for his living and pays his taxes.
He sponges of those who day pay tax. Same as he does when he uses the police, or the roads, or all manner of tax funded services.
I am very, very, into self reliance, but I have a deep seated moral objection to sponging off others. So part of "self reliance" for us, morally is to ensure that we earn enough in the Winter to pay in more than we take out. This type of thinking is basically human parasitism - the same as "freegans". It relies on the contributions of others - it cannot be a true lifestyle available to all.
Red
Same answer. So long as they don't expect to have access to the health service, police, roads etc. fine.
If they expect to use things that hard working people pay for without contibuting - they are parasites on society
I've got to admit I used to houseshare and work with this guy and his heart is in the right place. When this was written he was working p/t but talking food instead of cash, the caravan came from freecycle and the laptop was years old.
He has recently spent time in Greece helping set up a self reliant community and afaik is working on setting up something similar here.
As for the walk to India, there is more to the story. An (irresponsible in my opinion) mother foisted her daughter on him and at the same time someone else attached themselves. If he had remained by himself I think he would have found some way to manage and progress but because he was too kind/weak to say no to these people he was responsible for looking after them as well and it all went pear-shaped. A bit of forethought and a few french lessons would have helped as well
All in all, I don't think he is a parasite, he is very idealistic and wants to try and live a good life. He may be misguided and I certainly don't agree with everything he says but he isn't content to live complicitly in what he feels is a failing system.
I've got to admit I used to houseshare and work with this guy and his heart is in the right place. When this was written he was working p/t but talking food instead of cash, the caravan came from freecycle and the laptop was years old.
He has recently spent time in Greece helping set up a self reliant community and afaik is working on setting up something similar here.
As for the walk to India, there is more to the story. An (irresponsible in my opinion) mother foisted her daughter on him and at the same time someone else attached themselves. If he had remained by himself I think he would have found some way to manage and progress but because he was too kind/weak to say no to these people he was responsible for looking after them as well and it all went pear-shaped. A bit of forethought and a few french lessons would have helped as well
All in all, I don't think he is a parasite, he is very idealistic and wants to try and live a good life. He may be misguided and I certainly don't agree with everything he says but he isn't content to live complicitly in what he feels is a failing system.