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Simple living
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Simple living
Simple living (or voluntary simplicity) is a lifestyle in which individuals
consciously choose to minimize the pursuit of wealth and consumption.
Adherents choose simple living for a variety of reasons, including
spirituality, health, stress reduction, conservation, social justice or to
reject consumerism, while others choose to live more simply for reasons of
personal taste or personal economy.
Simple living as a concept is distinguished from those living in forced
poverty, as it is a voluntary lifestyle choice. Although asceticism may
resemble voluntary simplicity, proponents of simple living are not all
ascetics. The term "downshifting" is often used to describe the act of
moving from a lifestyle of greater consumption towards a lifestyle based on
voluntary simplicity.
History
From the 2nd millennium BC various Hindu groups in the Eastern world had
established a voluntarily simplified spiritual lifestyle. This practice
continued with various Abrahamic and Buddhist religious movements in the
Middle East, Europe and Asia. Abraham, Moses, Gautama Buddha, John the
Baptist, Jesus, and Muhammad all practised simple living, and many of their
teachings recommend that their followers do likewise. Various notable
individuals have claimed that spiritual inspiration led them to a simple
living lifestyle, such as Francis of Assisi, Ammon Hennacy, Rabindranath
Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi.
Epicureanism, based on the teachings of the Athens-based philosopher
Epicurus, flourished from about the fourth century BCE to the third century
CE. Epicureanism upheld the untroubled life as the paradigm of happiness,
made possible by carefully considered choices and avoidances. Specifically,
Epicurus pointed out that troubles entailed by maintaining an extravagant
lifestyle tend to outweigh the pleasure of partaking in it. He therefore
concluded that what is necessary for happiness, bodily comfort, and life
itself should be maintained at minimal cost, while all things beyond what is
necessary for these should either be tempered by moderation or completely
avoided.
In North America, religious groups including the Shakers, Mennonites, Amish,
and some Quakers have for centuries practiced lifestyles in which some forms
of wealth or technology are excluded for religious or philosophical reasons.
For more information about Quaker simplicity see Testimony of Simplicity.
Henry David Thoreau, a naturalist, utopian and author, is often considered
to have made the classic non-sectarian statement advocating a life of simple
and sustainable living in his book Walden (1854).
George Lorenzo Noyes, a naturalist, mineralogist, development critic, writer
and artist, is known as the thoreauvian of Maine. He lived a wilderness
lifestyle, advocating through his creative work a simple life of sustainable
living and his spiritual reverence for nature.
From the 1920s to the 1960s, a number of fairly prominent modern authors
articulated both the theory and practice of lifestyles of this sort, among
them Gandhian Richard Gregg, economists Ralph Borsodi and Scott Nearing,
anthropologist-poet Gary Snyder, and utopian fiction writer Ernest
Callenbach. Richard Gregg wrote a book entitled The Value of Voluntary
Simplicity (1936) and many decades later Duane Elgin wrote the highly
influential book Voluntary Simplicity (1981). There are eco-anarchist groups
in the United States and Canada today promoting lifestyles of simplicity. In
the United Kingdom, the Movement for Compassionate Living was formed by
Kathleen and Jack Jannaway in 1984, to spread the vegan message and promote
simple living and self-reliance as a remedy against the exploitation of
humans, animals, and the Earth.
Practice
Some people who practice voluntary simplicity act consciously to reduce
their need for purchased services or goods and, by extension, their need to
sell their time for money. Some will spend the extra free time this
generates helping their family or others in a voluntary way. During the
holiday season, such people often perform alternative giving. Others may
spend the extra free time to improve their own quality of life, for example
pursuing creative activities such as art and craft.
Another approach is to look very fundamentally at the whole issue of why we
need to buy and consume too many resources for a good quality of life[1]
Politics
Although some religious and political movements may encourage such
practices, simple living itself is apolitical. There is no basic conflict in
living simply and espousing most political theories.
Many Green Parties often advocate voluntary simplicity as a consequence of
their "four pillars" or the "Ten Key Values" of the United States Green
party. This includes in policy terms rejection of genetic modification and
nuclear power and other potentially hazardous technologies. The Greens'
support for simplicity is based on the reduction in natural resource usage
and environmental impact. This concept is expressed in Ernest Callenbach's
"green triangle" of ecology, frugality and health.
Many with similar views avoid involvement even with green politics as
compromising simplicity, however, and advocate forms of green anarchism that
attempt to implement these principles at a smaller scale than through modern
nations, e.g. the ecovillage. This view is often allied with a general
critique of globalization as industrial capitalism, colonial imperialism, or
a neoliberal "neocolonialism." Such a pairing is not universal among
practitioners of simple living, however, who may denounce such obsession
with worldly affairs as distasteful or unseemly.
Technology
Living simply may involve reconsidering personal definitions of "appropriate
technology", as Anabaptist groups such as the Amish or Mennonites have done.
People who eschew modern technology are often referred to as Luddites.
People who practice simple living have diverse views on the role of
technology. Some simple living adherents, such as Kirkpatrick Sale, are
strong critics of technology, while others see the Internet as a key
component of simple living in the future, including the reduction of an
individual's carbon footprint through telecommuting and less reliance on
paper. Voluntary simplicity may include high-tech components — indeed
computers, Internet, photovoltaic arrays, wind and water turbines, and a
variety of other cutting-edge technologies can be used to make a simple
lifestyle within mainstream culture easier and more sustainable.
The idea of food miles, the number of miles a given item of food, or its
ingredients, has travelled between the farm and the table, is used by simple
living advocates to argue for locally grown food, and this idea is gaining
mainstream acceptance. Some argue that computers and the Internet will allow
people to do things they needed a car to do before, such as work or
shopping, while video games and movies will make staying at home a much more
attractive option.
Advertising is criticised for encouraging a consumerist mentality. Many
advocates of voluntary simplicity tend to agree that cutting out, or cutting
down, on television viewing is a key ingredient in simple living. Some see
the Internet, podcasting, community radio or pirate radio as viable
alternatives.
Other, non-religious approaches
A reference and starting point for this approach can be found in James
Robertson's New Economics and the work of thinkers and activists, who
participate in his Working for a Sane Alternative network and program.
Further reading
* Walden (1854), Henry David Thoreau, available at wikisource — key text in
simple living.
* The Value of Voluntary Simplicity (1936), Richard Gregg; a seminal book on
the subject of simplicity, heavily influenced by Gandhi.
* The Simple Life (1973), Vernard Eller, ISBN 0802815375; a perspective on
simple living according to Jesus, Kierkegaard and Eller.
* More-With-Less Cookbook (Herald Press, 1976), Doris Janzen Longacre, ISBN
0-8361-1786-7 — suggestions by Mennonites on how to eat better and consume
less of the world's limited food resources.
* New Age Politics (1979), Mark Satin, ISBN 0-440-55700-3 — articulates a
politics focused on voluntary simplicity and humanistic psychology; builds
on two important Elgin articles from the 1970s.
* Living More With Less (Herald Press, 1980), Doris Janzen Longacre, ISBN
0-8361-1930-4 — a pattern of living with less and a wealth of practical
suggestions from the worldwide experiences of Mennonites.
* Voluntary Simplicity (1980), Duane Elgin, ISBN 0-688-12119-5 — key text in
voluntary simplicity.
* What Are People For? (North Point Press, 1990), Wendell Berry, ISBN
0-86547-437-0
* Wealth 101: Getting What You Want-Enjoying What You've Got, Peter
McWilliams (1992)
* Your Money or Your Life (1992), Joe Dominguez & Vicki Robin, ISBN
0-14-016715-3 — another classic voluntary simplicity text.
* Self-reliant, Tree-based, Autonomous Vegan Villages (Movement for
Compassionate Living, 1996), Kathleen Jannaway.
* Stepping Lightly: Simplicity for People and the Planet, Mark A. Burch
(2000), ISBN 0-86571-423-1
* Affluenza (2002), John de Graaf et al., ISBN 1-57675-199-6 — popularized
approach to voluntary simplicity.
* What Should I Do If Reverend Billy is in my Store? (2003), Bill Talen,
ISBN 1-56584-979-5, more recent anti-consumerism, anti-corporate. Talen
gives an account of his activism.
* The Circle of Simplicity: Return to the Good Life, Cecile Andrews, ISBN
0-06-092872-7 — leading guide for simplicity study circles.
* Nothing's Too Small to Make a Difference, Wanda Urbanska & Frank Levering,
ISBN 0-89587-297-8
* Simplicity and Success: Creating the Life You Long For, Bruce Elkin,
Trafford {2003]
* Serve God, Save the Planet (Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 2006), J.
Matthew Sleeth, M.D., ISBN 1-933392-01-0, religious approach to voluntary
simplicity.
* Living the Good Life. How one family changed their world from their own
backyard. (2006), Linda Cockburn, ISBN 1-74066-312-8
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