Early Retirement Extreme Forums

I'm a firm believer that while technologies change, most ideas about life are recycled and are habitually "forgotten" by society and then rediscovered again and again. In fact, if an idea is truly new I am suspicious that it will have no staying power and is only valid in its present context. I spend a lot of time reading books by long-dead people that were only popular in their time.
I was impressed by this 60s-era talk by Earl Nightingale that touches on personal growth, the purpose of money, the confusion about consumerism and object-worship (at 6 minutes), why people like us do not find satisfaction in ordinary jobs and look for other things, the idea that all you need is "enough" income to satisfy your personal tastes. And also note the clearly "sign of his times" speech at the end about the changing role of women in society -- and the necessity of change for healthy well-being generally. Listen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNk3chlH ... D32DCFCA32

It's interesting how you mentioned "technologies change". One of the laments by the more pillary elements of society was how the ERE book contained too few references. However, one pretty much finds these "independence, deliberate, simplify" (contract!) ideas EVERY single time the economy reaches a no-growth maturity level, e.g. the 2000s, the 1970s (back to the land, YMOYL---the book came later), 1930s (Borsodi, Nearings), 1900s (skipped?), 1870, 1840 (Thoreau), ... pretty much every winter and summer of the Kondratiev cycle.
Schumpeter originally believed an innovation cycle drove this cycle but apparently failed to find evidence for that. It's a good idea though.
This is all 4th turning stuff which to me seems like the best sociological theory ever.

You might look to some of the works of James Allen for the period around 1900, although they are generally more spiritual than practical:
"James Allen strove to live the ideal life described by Russia¹s great novelist and mystic Count Leo Tolstoy - the life of voluntary poverty, manual labor and ascetic self-discipline. Like Tolstoy, Allen sought to improve himself, be happy, and master all of the virtues."
More here:
http://jamesallen.wwwhubs.com/