Can Be Blue Zone Lifestyle be Attainable For Everyone?

Even in societies that value consumerism and materialism?

In my previous story, I described my experience about living in a “blue zone.”

As I mentioned in my story, my days are really simple, filled with spending entire days outside in nature, interacting with animals, and my lovely plants.

However, my mind is spinning with one question: can this be achieved in a society that so heavily emphasizes capitalism?

Is it possible for anyone to attain it, or are we simply chasing an impossible dream?

The definition of the blue zone lifestyle is:

Long healthy life, minimal impact on the planet, meaningful relationships (“us” vs. “me”), plant-based diets, drinking wine and tea with family and friends, clear purpose based on satisfying low-level needs, no care about time, walkable communities, gardening, enjoy physical work and find joy in everyday chores, enjoy being outside, etc.”

As we know many Western nations operate on a capitalist system, including the United States, Canada, several countries in Western Europe, and Australia.

At the heart of capitalism lies the pursuit of profit, and so consumerism and materialism are encouraged.

Without shopping, profits will fall drastically, making capitalism unsustainable in the long run.

Therefore, individuals living in capitalist countries are incentivized or even compelled to work hard in order to have enough money available to spend on goods.

Also, the most successful way of living is through consistent productivity and hard work. Workaholism is rewarded.

As time is important, cars are needed for efficient commuting to and from work in order to conduct business transactions more effectively.

Also, it seems that there is no time for socializing as everyone is preoccupied with chasing the almighty dollar.

Who has the time to cook?

Just grab something frozen or go through a drive-thru. Sorry, but American cuisine doesn’t taste particularly good.

Usually, food is overly salty, spicy, or sweet.

Once you walk into a grocery store, you can smell the excessive sweetness that is added to most processed foods. Most of the world knows that the quality of American food is really poor.

And the poor quality of food is spreading into many western nations.

In Capitalist countries people are usually in a hurry, everyone is constantly busy, and even the kids are driven from activity to activity.

Nobody has time to just take a breath.

They even eat in the car, or at the desk in the office. Multi-tasking is a positive trait to increase productivity.

Nobody has time to spare…

People even work up to 3 jobs or 2 at the same time.

So explain to me how you can live a peaceful, slow life, making food from scratch, indulging in outdoor activities, or being with your loved ones and community when you’re always in a rush and when the whole system is against you.

You may argue that Loma Linda is in the US and it is considered a blue zone.

Maybe it is but look how different and inauthentic it looks in comparison to Sardinia, Ikaria, or Okinawa blue zones.

In the “blue zones,” the homes are usually modest and old-fashioned.

Luxury items are hard to find. These places appear quite different from Loma Linda, CA, where the average home costs $600k, most of the population have college degrees, and a family of four needs to earn at least $5000 per month.

In Ikaria, Sardinia, or Okinawa, on the other hand, people tend to make do with much less — sometimes even less than $1000 per month.

As Kyle Kowalski from Slow Life Movement puts it:

“Poor in finances, rich in nature, friendliness and health. I can recommend it for people to be creative and fill up their soul batteries.”

My verdict is that capitalism and the blue zone lifestyle don’t mix. They are exact opposites.

You can’t have both.

But maybe someone discovered a place in North America for example where you can live authentic life in the blue zone…

Enlighten me!