Tim Stanley

Good morning. Last week I had to go clothes shopping. My dog has eaten all my socks; the moths have eaten all my jumpers. I generally try to buy a replica of what I had before and so, on the hunt for a mustard coloured v-neck, I wandered into a department store - only to discover that they are already decorated for Christmas. In October. Normally I would leave immediately. This time I was tempted to buy some crackers - before they run out. We are warned that this winter we might face shortages of workers and goods. Those of us who have long said Christmas should be about church or family, not toys or turkey, have had our bluff called. And it’s disconcerting. We’ve got used to the idea that societies get progressively richer, that choice is ever-expanding. We might be compelled to rediscover the lost virtue of thrift. Now I suspect that my grandparents were thrifty because they had to be: in the era of rationing, they would make-do-and-mend, and transformed a necessity into a cultural value. Today, if policy makers have made serious errors that lead to shortages, I’m wary of letting them off the hook on the grounds that it’s “good for the soul.” That said, thrift is under-valued. It’s not to be confused with meanness, which is selfish. Thrift, to take a Christian perspective, is about the ordering of one’s life so that money is not wasted on unnecessary things but can instead be directed towards that which really matters - helping others or the life of the spirit. The thrifty person is generous in the sense that they wish to make the most of everything they have - such as when, after a good meal, the left-over ingredients are not thrown into the bin but reconstituted in a flan or as bubble-and-squeak. The Japanese practice an art called Kintsugi, whereby jars or pots, when broken, are not dumped but pieced back together using lacquer dusted with gold - so that the cracks are visible. The imperfect is not discarded. It is valued and admired for its age and service. And the cracks, like wrinkles on our skin, tell a story. I’d argue that environmentalism is another movement concerned with thrift - seeking to conserve but also to relish Creation. There is the expectation that if we treat the Earth’s resources more carefully we will make our lives better in turn. And when I survey the huge variety of jumpers on sale - to me, a preposterous abundance of styles - I suspect I'd prefer fewer options, but clothes that last longer. Less choice, greater quality.