Henry David Thoreau's Influence On Society

Henry David Thoreau is a man who fought against the grain of time. His philosophy is practical, poetic, personal and now universal. A Thoreauvian lifestyle is the exact opposite of the “consumer treadmill” that most of society finds itself running today; it is rich in time, opportunity, and large quantities of invisible wealth which can not bought, sold, or broken. To effectively roll with Thoreau’s way of living in the 21st century, one must have their own brain. In other words, rather than being a follower of the herd, you need to strive to be the person who breaks out from the rest of the crowd and seeks new territory. Unfortunately, in the 21st century, that is much easier said than done. Society has made very few changes since the publishing

Today, society is more than willing to spend hundreds of dollars on jeans that are completely shredded. So, if your clothes are dirty and worn out, instead of just throwing them away, wear them and be proud of the rips and tears that are in them. Clothing is emblematic of work ethic; anything that is function is “doing” Thoreau. In fact, “the object of clothing is, first, to retain the vital heat, and secondly, in this state of society, to cover nakedness.” (21) Functional clothing can be obtained very inexpensively. If we choose to respect fashion as seen in a magazine such as vogue, or on our favorite movie star, we are thereby handing over some of our powers and freedoms that should never be given away. Spend more time outdoors and you clothing will look well-worn and weather-beaten. What should it matter, in the grander scheme of things, whether we dress in last seasons colours or in a dress that has not been worn since the 1970’s? Thoreau knows how society would react to his statement; “Most behave as if they believed that their prospects for life would be ruined if they should do it. It would be easier for them to hobble to town with a broken leg than with a broken pantaloon.”

Thoreau explains that once our basic needs are met, "Superfluous wealth can buy superfluities only. Money is not required to buy one necessary of the soul" as the best things in life are free. (329) In wealthy families, each generation becomes less capable than the previous. Due to the prosperity of the United States, we find that very few American students are going into medicine and science; thus, we are having to import doctors and scientists from other countries. Our universities, instead of being filled with wise and great leaders, are filled with political infighters who watch their every word and write undecipherable books. Yet we give them the title of doctor of philosophy. Thoreau makes the claim that a philosopher should not be a conformist but should live a life quite different from those around him as the Greek and Roman philosophers once did. Thoreau suggests an alternative; instead of spending one's life obtaining more necessities and luxuries, spend it on