What to Expect

The utopian vision of “you will own nothing and be happy” is a minimalist's dream—a world where you have instant access to everything (like streaming services, ride-sharing, and cloud computing) without the burden of debt, clutter, or maintenance.

Critics see this as a "comfortable cage" or a form of modern financial slavery. They argue that if citizens own nothing, they control nothing, making them vulnerable to corporations or governments that can cancel their subscriptions to housing, transport, or information at any time.

We already don't own the movies we purchase on our iPads; we only license them. Amazon can delete our books from our Kindles remotely (and has done so), and now is testing ads and edits inside ebooks you already paid for. And Netflix has quietly altered scenes in films after release, with no notification and no recourse.

For tonight’s Questions That Matter we will use questions, prompts, and group exercises to consider whether and to what degree “You Will Own Nothing and Be Happy” is a modern-day type of freedom or an unwitting turn towards digital serfdom and tech feudalism.

As usual at Questions That Matter, the goal of the night isn’t simply to agree, disagree, or learn. It’s also to connect through genuine, lively, interactive discussion and, potentially, to go to some of the unexpected and uncharted places that deep and free conversation can take us.

Since we started Questions That Matter, between 25 and 50 people have joined us weekly. When we wrap up, we hope you’ll mingle and exchange numbers. As polarized as the world is right now, one of the deepest connections still available to human beings is a shared meal, and every week many of us all go for dinner and you’re very welcome to join us.

Whether you’re in Chiang Mai for a short visit or you’re a long-term expat, we hope you can join us—not only to explore the deeper questions but to make new connections and friendships.