The car, the library, and a wardrobe full of clothes. Status symbols of yesterday. Today car sharing, swap markets, and minimalism are booming as aspects of a lifestyle that rejects materialism. The cult of "less is more" is slowly spilling over from the United States to Europe. "100 things and no more" promises a new happiness without the urge to spend. Critics see it as a lifestyle that is only open to the middle classes - after all, those who have nothing, have nothing to swap. Optimists believe in a change with the potential to cut capitalism down to size and see in it the harbinger of a more social interconnectedness and a way of life that protects the environment. A trend against capitalism? Or saving the world by conserving resources?
