A Dream for a Better World

In the modern world, people have different ideas for consumption compared those of people in the past. Nowadays, excessive consumption and profligacy are very common all over the world. Many young people consider profligacy as natural behavior and they even look upon those who pursue thrift. As for such phenomenon, we can just worry about the distorted life value of young people and that is indeed a big social problem.
However, being gratified, in some countries, pursuit of thrift can be found in various aspects of social life. Holland is famous for its “closeness” and there is a joke which can fully give the evidence. A passenger asked the stewardess when the plane flied across Holland, “what are the white belts on the ground?” “people dry the used white tissue in order to reuse it.” It is very funny but it can show that people in Holland do not like to waste and squander. The joke is a kind of exaggeration but people in Holland are proud of their “closeness”. They call themselves as “miser” and they have also organized clubs for miser. They pursue thrift all their life. When they purchase cars, they first consider the fuel-efficiency and practical functions. They use the remained water which is saved from cooking water to wash plates. Each family has plan for daily expenditure every month and they seldom spend more than the family budget. Actually, those “misers” just want to send items which they do not use any more to those who need them and they pursue the society with enough equality. In Swiss, pursuit of thrift can be also easily found everywhere. It is estimated that people in Swiss can obtain 30,000$ annually on average and their income ranks the first place in European countries. They have careful calculation and strict budgeting in all aspects of life. In Swiss, a large number of people own cars but luxury cars are rarely found and most are common cars. Swiss is also a kingdom for watches and many famous watches are made in the country such as Rolex, Omega and Radar etc. However, most people in Swiss just wear very common watches. We can also find that houses in Swiss are very simple, clean and elegant instead of luxury. Housewives like to buy simple cleaning products and they also collect rain to clean bathroom and toilet. Japan is another country which also pursue thrift. As we all know, Japan is an island nation and Japanese people do not have abundant resources. In such case, the awareness of thrift even seeps into their bones and blood. Japanese people like use water repeatedly and they use the water which has been used to clean plates to clean floor. They also use the water which has been used to clean vegetables to water flowers or clean toilet. Power companies, gas companies and water bureau etc also teach people how to reduce the expenditure. In some public places, lift can be found but if no one uses it, the lift can not work. Japanese people also prefer small cars which can save steel and petrol.
If all countries can follow the awareness of thrift all the time, maybe people today do not need to worry about the dilemma of energy and environment so much.