I guess if we were to trace the genealogy of the idea, Plato's Republic has the words,

  "Now, the true city is in my opinion the one we just described--a 
  healthy city, as it were. But, if you want to, let's look at a 
  feverish city, too. Nothing stands in the way....This healthy 
  one isn't adequate any more, but must already be gorged with a 
  bulky mass of things."

I tried a solution once, too: I threw away my computer.