Immiseration

published Sep 24, 2019

noun: Your life getting worse / poorer in a specific way, not limited to loss of income.

Examples:

  • your new refrigerator is nominally "equal" to, but in reality shittier than, the old one;
  • your pizza size is reduced while staying at the same price;
  • your next car, priced the same as the old one, but smaller and less performant;
  • your daily commute, peaceful before, gets disrupted by new, noisy or violent, passengers;
  • obnoxious / loud / dirty neighbors move in;
  • your food costs a bit less, but being substantially less nutritious;
  • your home costs more, but it was built with imported drywall that emits toxic fumes;
  • your utility / fuel bill goes up while your consumption remains the same.

Immiseration is a form of impoverishment.