Not Buying It--My Criticisms of Judith Levine

I decided to give this whole anti-consumerism thing a roll. My live-in partner who is a Marxist thought it was pretty stupid, but I really thought I could do better than Judith Levine, the author of Not Buying It.

Criticisms for her book were many, but here are mine:
I had been excited about reading this book since Judith Levine was interviewed in Bitch magazine, but like other readers, I was disappointed. While I could not fault her and her partner for each owning a property before they became a couple, I really couldn't understand how two college educated people couldn't figure out how to get rid of a car. While you may need a car with four wheel drive in VT and even a truck, you don't really need a car for NYC. So they were holding on to one vehicle solely for the purpose of commuting from VT to NYC a few times a year? What about a train? To her credit, she does sublet her apartment in NYC when she is not there, but they do not use their property for alternate uses in VT. I similarly found her rants about the cell phone tower and SmartWool socks annoying. And while trying to not buy anything for a year was exemplary, it was pretty clear that she lived beyond her means anyway, but then again most of us do that too. However, purporting to be a vegetarian and then eating meat was obnoxious. So was the fact that she couldn't seem to find anything entertaining to do in NYC for free.

I have lived in NYC, and of course, you can go for broke, it's a great, expensive city, but it also has more free culture than other cites I have lived in. Any number of websites list free things to do in the City as well as Time Out magazine. She scoffed at becoming an usher to see free theater shows and yet she didn't explore the possibility of becoming an usher at a film center, but complained endlessly of all the movies she was missing.

Judith just semi-gave up on her consumerism culture without living like a ascetic, but yet she also didn't find alternatives for her year not buying it. You can get free professional hair cuts by either enlisting a talented friend or being a hair odel for students. You can not pay for organic tampons by using an alternative device such as the Keeper or Diva Cup, which pays for itself in a few months and lasts for years. You can find refurbished/vintage frames for much cheaper than $300. (I have been wearing glasses for over 10 years and never paid that much for any pair, even when they included add-ons like no-glare coating.) She didn't want to join the Park Slope co-op because of what she called it's notoriously complicated and long working hours. I don't know what she's talking about, you work less than 3 hours a month and pay about $125 a year.

I also found it hilarious that she struggled for a gift to buy her niece by giving her a refurbished necklace (props!) but then bought herself clothes on the trip. My advice to readers is to try your own year of not buying it, or if that sounds too crazy, try a month and see if you can do better.