Diderot Effect: Why You Buy What You Don’t Need and How To Stop

“No more coordination, No more unity, no more beauty between my current robe and my items!”

These are the words of Denis Diderot, and these words led to his reckless spending, which he later summed up in an essay, “Regrets on parting with my old dressing gown.”

Like Diderot, we no longer find coordination, unity, or beauty in our current dresses and bag or belt and shoes. That’s why we proceed to buy matching items. And these lead to a spiral ofspending.

It has a name. It’s called The Diderot Effect.

What is Diderot Effect?

The term “Diderot Effect” began with Denis Diderot, a famous French philosopher who lived in poverty until 1765.

He was 52 years old and could not afford to provide a dowry for his daughter’s marriage. Denis, a writer, and co-founder of Encyclopédie, was bailed out by a fan, Catherine the Great, who was at that time Empress of Russia. She offered to buy his library at the rate of £1000.

After her purchase, Diderot had enough money to spare, so he decides to buy a new scarlet robe; then he suddenly realized “there was no more coordination, no more unity, no more beauty between his robe and other items. He needed to buy new things that’ll match the beauty of his robe.

He changed his old rug for a new one from Damascus. He added a better kitchen table into his kitchen and decorated it with beautiful sculptures. He swapped his straw chair for a leather chair and bought a new mirror.

A new item led to the purchase of other things. But this came with a price.

Denis Diderot will later sum up his regrets in an essay titled “Regrets on parting with my old dressing gown” and expressed how he’d become a slave to his new items.

We’re All In This

We’re all like Diderot.

We buy a new possession and suddenly see the need to purchase other items to complement it without realizing that obtaining one item creates a spiral of consumption that leads to more acquisitions because human wants are insatiable.

Impulsive buying is the reason for this effect. Impulsive buying is buying goods or services without planning because emotions and feelings trigger it.

An action based on irrational thinking, and marketers take advantage of this to boost sales among consumers.

Is Minimalism The Cure For Diderot Effect?

Minimalism is buying necessary items and doing away with what you don’t need.

You don't need a green bag when you have a black bag. But the Diderot effect will tell you to get a green bag to match your new green dress. And later suggest to you to get a green bracelet, then a green shoe and the suggestion continues.

A whole spending spiral is created. Most financial downturns are traceable to this effect.

Minimalism cuts down our spending and helps us focus on the main thing. We can tackle this effect by adopting a minimalist mindset that encourages us to buy only the essential things.

Bottom Line

A minimalist lifestyle is a solution to excessive spending. Diderot’s Regrets on Parting with my old dressing gowngives an insight into the regret in every man’s heart due to our excessive spending.

We can be in control of our finances when we begin to focus on what we need.