Is counter-cultural ‘Crunchy Cons’ on the money?

This year I’ve challenged myself to read 20 books which I’ve never read before. Once I read them, I’m pulling together a book review for anyone else interested in checking these out. You can find the whole list here. The first is a 2006 counter-cultural read.

The first cab of the rank was actually a Christmas present from my husband. He’s taken to picking me a controversial political book each Christmas which is a fun exercise. Last year it was The Two Income Trap which I can’t recommend enough. This year it was Crunchy Cons by Rod Dreher. I’ve read his two other books on society and found them interesting, so I was intrigued and keen to jump into this one.

The Crunchy Con premise

This book captures something I was brought up in and have been trying to live out my whole life. The premise is that today’s society has become unmoored from its anchors of tradition, relationships, local living, stewardship of the earth and small business models.

We’ve become lost in a consumerist sea, which tells us to do whatever we want, as long as we keep buying things. No longer do we appreciate true beauty. We green wash, but don’t really care for the earth. Truth has become whatever you want it to be, at the loss of strong character, strong families and a flourishing society.

But what can you do about it? You, that one little conservative-minded person? What change can you effect? It feels especially hard when your own ‘side’ laughs at you for caring about the environment or thinking old is often better than new. Our politics are aligned to Left and Right, with such hate for the other side that real discussion is an uphill battle.

Crunchy Cons seeks to answer these questions, from someone who’s been there too. The author makes some compelling suggestions on how you can improve your little corner of the world across the areas of consumerism, food, environment, housing, education and religion.

The parts that resonated with me most

I really enjoyed reading about shifting your shopping to a minimalist and local approach. This is something I have been slowly trying to do for a couple of years now. Covid certainly made that tricky, having to order online a lot. But I absolutely agree that less and local is a lifestyle choice that is critical for our society and our planet. Now I just need to break all my consumerist habits …

The food section was solid, and did make good points. I love my local farmers market, although I’m still fighting the convenience that Woolies gives me. While I agree that saving in some areas allows you to shop the more expensive markets, I do wonder how sustainable this form of homemaking would be for those with children or lower incomes.

Valuing beauty in our lives, reducing our screen time, delving into our past for wisdom and connecting across political or religious divides also resonated. Good points in all these areas, and certainly food for thought.

One section in particular left me frustrated

Housing, housing, housing.

Dreher advocates for people moving into the inner suburbs, buying beautiful old houses and staying there for as long as is possible (preferably life). His reasoning is that we need to form stable communities, which means we can’t move house as often as we do. We also need to reduce our commutes to allow more time for meaningful family connection and leisure, especially in green spaces. Dreher notes that beauty in architecture is uplifting, inspiring and grounding. Check, check, check. 100% agree with you, Rod.

However.

This was written in 2006 from Texas, where Dreher was able to snap up a gorgeous Craftsman bungalow for under $200,000 USD (in 2006 terms). Out of interest, I googled the average house price for the suburb he lived in today. It’s absolutely a beautiful area. But house prices have gone up a lot since then. If you want your crunchy con dream house, you’d need to shell out over $600,000 USD (currently equivalent to over $820,000). In Australia, inner city prices are far worse. A small home (sans heritage charm) where we are currently renting will set you back at least $1.5 million AUD.

The housing conundrum

Today it is not realistic for most people looking to live a single-income life (likely with a large family) to afford a house of that price. In Australia, families like that area being priced out of even the outer suburbs of our capitals, let alone the inner ring! The advice to chose short commutes and beautiful housing is one I agree with, but I have to acknowledge that for most people it just isn’t achievable anymore.

This left me with questions. Do you move to a cheaper city, perhaps in another state, where you can have shorter commutes and not be in hock for the rest of your life? What if that means leaving behind your community of friends, family and church? Are the house savings worth it? What about a much longer commute in order to afford a nice house and stay near your networks? How much should you pay for a beautiful house? Is that really as important as Dreher suggests, especially when you’re crunching the numbers?

I don’t have the answers (man, comment below if you do!). I note them here because they were raised by this book, and caused a certain amount of frustration. I felt just how much my generation has lost due to unaffordable housing.

Dreher’s writing could be compared to wine: better with time

In terms of general writing style and flow, I found this book a little disappointing. This was (I believe) Dreher’s first book, so he was still finding his voice. His other two books are much better written and far more compelling. 

I picked up a slightly triumphalist tone which detracted from his message. It kind of put me offside a little, despite being already very open to his ideas. At times, I felt as if he was telling me how great his life was, while I was struggling to comprehend how I’d afford to do it. I’m sure he was trying to show the benefit of his counter-cultural premise but I found it a little much.

However, it was still an engaging book overall. I read it quite quickly and was interested in what Dreher had to say. I found many of his arguments compelling, especially looking at society 16 years later. The perspective certainly shows the wisdom of most of his suggestions.

What are your counter-cultural living tips? Would you or have you read this book?