Henry Thoreaus View on the Economy - Essay Example

Henry Thoreau’s View on the Economy Introduction Henry Thoreau had been an influential personality whose ideology led to various revolutionary ideologies in famous personalities in Martin Luther King Jr. He had been an influential personality with environmental ideologies and theories that presented the challenge to violent solutions. Thoreau had been an intellectual personality whose specialty had been in philosophy, history, theology and literature studies. The ideology presented in the personality had changed the school of thought into perception of positive societal outlook extended in his predecessors. Moreover, he had the perspective to change the outlook of an underdeveloped platform and raise the standard of a depressed lifestyle. The evidence had been accorded in his creation of civil disobedience that saw the idea of breaking from a limiting system that saw societal members imprisoned. These had been in slavery mostly created in taxation and unequal distribution of resources. Most of Thoreau’s philosophies had been caused by the government’s intuition to provide a minimal development platform for development to the less able. Thoreau had possessed numerous qualities, some dubbing him a mad scientist while others relating his character to a mathematician and his book on Walden Civil Disobedience and Other Writings confirm the provision. Thoreau had been a natural activist and a scientist who considered the preservation of the natural lifestyle (Curtis 31). The first of the chapters he had written on the book was on economy and Henry sought to explain why he had written the book. The environment had been degraded by the activities of humanity and he wanted to explain the consequences brought in unjust activities. Thoreau had based his life on discovery forming the principles that inspired personalities to adopt the principle of civil disobedience. His policy meant that persons presented the challenge to the society in upholding personal values that uplifted their efforts rather than adhering to the rules. He had been living alone and dependent on personal attributes to achieve the satisfaction needed in adjusting to life (Thoreau and William 38). His association with nature and as a wanderer led him to write and discover natural elements that had helped in developing the scientific aspect of his personality (McElroy). His philosophy presented that the natural compositions to be left untouched and away from the development in the society. He explained that though people saw him to be alone, he did not feel abandoned and gained satisfaction from the space created (Thoreau and Blake 40). The chapter discloses his venture to lead a differentiated lifestyle from those who work hard to achieve the luxury of the society as compared to his ideology that meant preservation of the wild and lead a basic lifestyle. Theodore had been a mathematician and an economist whose philosophy had been based on finding the alternative to harsh lifestyle. His writing on Walden discovered that with the natural lifestyle preserved, the advantage is presented on the need to offer solutions to uphold humanity through the changing environment. The longest of his chapters on his writings had been based on the measures needed to preserve the economy. The economy had been driven by the struggle by individuals to present the efforts needed to achieve a higher lifestyle and struggling with fluctuation in market prices. The solution in simple living and application of cheap alternative measures that utilize minimal raw materials from the environment had been the proven solution. Thoreau led a comfortable lifestyle with the advantage offered in applying readily available materials. He had calculated the expenses to be used and sought to utilizing the alternative cheap measures that would limit the exploitation of the natural reserve. Thoreau explained that humanity had been accorded the challenge of relating to the lifestyle that had been admired by the society, and the authority presented in the rules set in the government’s policies (McElroy). This meant that humanity had to find the happiness required from the lifestyle that meant less destruction to the environment and applying sustained energy to complete desired satisfaction. The chapter emphasizes on the need to offer solutions to present alternative production measures that brought added effort to the sustenance of the economy. These solutions were seen in Thoreau in finding a suitable lifestyle that saw the individual use less energy in production, while achieving satisfaction. Although some found him to be mad with the lifestyle he had chosen, he lived a quiet and comfortable life governed by his own policies. In the chapter, Thoreau had been an inventor and developer of the ideology that saw the reduction of the effort to be used in achieving developments. The comparison of the wealth in the ownership of luxurious items to the natural composition had been explained to lead to economic degradation. Thoreau explains that those in the possession of luxury items had been presented the challenge and disadvantage of looking after them. These items had been more tasking to acquire and maintain and he suggested the need to adopt a cheaper lifestyle. With a sustainable economy, there had been more freedom and liberation from a constrained lifestyle. This vision saw him build a home on a constrained land and using reduced materials that brought him peace. Thoreau had written the chapter to depict his character as an activist who preferred solitude to prove his opinion on sustenance. He explains that unlike most people in the society who live according to the set measures by their parents to acquire a good education and finally good jobs to complete satisfaction, he could achieve his own comfort using a varied method. This had been proved in his $28.12 cabin, making a living out of agriculture in selling beans. To Thoreau, the natural environment offered the needed measures to achieve satisfaction and deliver the needed progress. The chapter explained on the need to practice a contained living with a minimal effort growth to the economy and balancing the measures needed to deliver production using natural reserve. Production and economy sustenance are achieved through balancing the measures applied for development and the desire to achieve profit. He had tried to reach the intellectual majority to offer a stable lifestyle and solution to the economy through unity and limit development oppressive values. Conclusion Henry Thoreau’s writings in Civil Disobedience and Walden depicted the character to present variable qualities and development to the economy. These had made him inspire activists who all presented a similar ideology to develop the society into a better lifestyle and against oppression from the government. Thoreau had been an environmental activist who believed in preserving the natural reserve to offer sustainable economy. The economy had been based on the need to provide supportive measures that controlled dependence on natural reserve for improvement. Works Cited Curtis, Kent. The Virtue of Thoreau: Biography, Geography, and History in Walden Woods. Environmental History, Vol. 15 (1): pp 31-53. doi: 10.1093/envhis/emq005. McElroy, Wendy. Henry David Thoreau and “Civil Disobedience,” Part 1. Freedom Daily. July 2005. Web. 22 May 2012. Available at: Thoreau, Henry D, and William J. Rossi. Walden, Civil Disobedience, and Other Writings: Authoritative Texts, Journal, Reviews and Posthumous Assessments, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. Print. Thoreau, Henry D, and Blake, H G. O.. Thoreau's Thoughts: Selections from the Writings of Henry David Thoreau. Boston, Mass.: Elibron Classics, 2005. Print. Read More