4 Comments
User's avatar
Lydia Davidson's avatar

My husband and I follow this principle of buying well because if we support good work, it helps the person who did the work. It is charitable and just to pay for good work even when the cheaper alternative exists.

Expand full comment
Hadden Turner's avatar

"It is charitable and just to pay for good work even when the cheaper alternative exists." Exactly! I wish more people saw this - especially in supporting independent shops. Here in the UK, they have taken a bruising from big supermarkets undercutting them. When we lose the independents, we also lose the local and specialist produce that they sold (which is often more sustainable and just produce too)

Expand full comment
Lydia Davidson's avatar

I live in India and we have all the conveniences to shop online and get groceries from supermarkets, many even do doorstep delivery, but of what use is all this if the guy next door can't earn a living because no one shops at his small shop? Soon these shops will disappear and when people don't have a choice other than the supermarket they will realize the mistake of buying cheap. An American friend once told us that he would pay for something, even if it seemed expensive, if he found value in it. That's so wise.

The value of some services and things don't just stop with the thing, it's connected to talent, hardwork, tradition vs greed, monopoly, big vs small guy, etc.

I think people are slowly growing weary of the cheap stuff. Cheap is not always cheap, especially in the long run.

Expand full comment
Haley Baumeister's avatar

Yes, English Pastoral (and Berry's The Unsettling Of America) have slowly started to radicalize me in this way.

Expand full comment