work-and-spend cycle

An important aspect here is related to the so-called work-and-spend cycle.

Schor calls them "downshifters," people who have scaled back the desperate work-and-spend cycle and are much happier as a result.

The primary motivations for downshifting are gaining leisure time, escaping from work-and-spend cycle, and removing the clutter of unnecessary possessions that are accrued while existing in those societies with the highest standards of living and levels of production.