The Idler. Issue 36 Your money or your life? - Tom Hodgkinson

The Idler team believe that idleness is unjustly criticised in modern society when it is, in fact, a vital component of a happy life. In this new edition of The Idler, the team examine the way money and greed have taken over our lives and look at ways of escaping its clutches.

In Medieval times, prioritising money-making was seen as a sin. On their deathbed, usurers tried to pay back the money they had extorted so they would have a better chance of getting into heaven. Money was just a part of life, a means of exchange, rather than an end in itself. Then came the Protestant work ethic, which introduced the damaging notion that "time is money".

The Idler wants to reintroduce a fun-loving medieval attitude to life. The last issue looked at how to avoid work; now it looks at how to avoid consuming. You can also expect The Idler's characteristic blend of well-known writers, humour and art.