Thoreau lived a simple life for two years on the bank of walden lake. Through practice, he showed people that there was very little to meet the basic needs of human life. It was easy to be satisfied. He expected to use these methods to reveal to posterity that it was meaningless to rely on the development of modern science and technology for the development of all aspects of the development of human society, and that only by choosing simple ways of living can we enjoy the real joy of life. The moderate consumption and moral consumption advocated by the modern society are actually the remolding of the consumption concept of human beings in the past, which also shows that modern people are changing their choice of lifestyle. Psychologist maslow, in his famous theory of hierarchical needs, proposed that only after people get the basic requirements of material life will they begin to pursue higher spiritual levels.