The Paradox of Minimalism

The Paradox of Minimalism may be summed up in one sentence:

"If less is more, how little is too much?"

There are NIL Google results for that phrase, a quotation now attributable to Possom Cohen, New Zealand.

Time becomes more valuable as one ages. This is a classic example of the Paradox of Minimalism.
The Paradox of Minimalism is related to the passage of time and to The Holiday Paradox.

Why Does Time Seem to Speed Up with Age?
July 1, 2016
Scientific American

Bonnie Raitt addressed the passage of time and the Paradox of Minimalism in her song "Nick Of Time."

Bonnie Raitt - Nick Of Time

"I see my folks are getting on
And I watch their bodies change
I know they see the same in me
And it makes us both feel strange

No matter how you tell yourself
It's what we all go through
Those lines are pretty hard to take
When they're staring back at you

Oh Oh Oh, scared you'll run out of time

When did the choices get so hard
With so much more at stake
Life gets mighty precious
When there's less of it to wa-a-a-aste

Mmm-m-m-m-m-m
Mmmmmmm, scared you'll run out of time"

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There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know; and such small portions." Well, that's essentially how I feel about life - full of loneliness, and misery, and suffering, and unhappiness, and it's all over much too quickly.”

― Woody Allen, Annie Hall: Screenplay

The Paradox of Minimalism is epitomized in the opening sentence of this 2016 New York Times article:

"It has become an ostentatious ritual of consumerist self-sacrifice; people who have it all now seem to prefer having nothing at all."

The Oppressive Gospel of ‘Minimalism’
By Kyle Chayka
July 26, 2016
NYTimes

The Paradox of Minimalism also describes some very rich people giving away most of their material possessions.

“The richer you are, the less you have.”

Another ironic example of the Paradox of Minimalism is the recent KonMari decluttering craze:

konmari.com

The Paradox of Minimalism by Primary Producer NZ April 11, 2022