w0rd. Solipsism.

Voluntary simplicity.

In 1981, Duane Elgin wrote a book titled Voluntary Simplicity: toward a way of life that is outwardly simple, inwardly rich. This concept was, and still is a timely one, and one that incorporates some key values that have been lost over the past decades. Voluntary Simplicity comes as man, particularly in developed countries, pursues the avenues of capitalism, consumerism and the “American Dream.” The question that has to be asked is, why is it that Horatio Alger (the average North American) has impacted such thought, generated such a movement and an anti-consumerist lifestyle as retaliation against capitalism, and a focus inward, towards the family and the individual? The answer is simple and is given by the voluntary simplicity movement itself. The planet’s environment is now endangered, resources need to be conserved for our children’s future and working for a wage is, for the most part, not fulfilling and often requires us all to do things we may not think are right, that society is unjust, and that social resources are not equally distributed, therefore this cultural movement seeks to correct these problems. Voluntary simplicity is a virtue, and as year after year the earth becomes more and more polluted, robbed of its non-renewable resources and the majority of its inhabitants become overweight, unhealthy, abused and unjustly treated, this concept comes closer and closer to a universal idea that could trump any other. This article identifies the core values and ideas of Voluntary Simplicity and examines whether or not the concept will solve the environmental problems we face today.

Just what exactly are the tenants of the movement, and how does it seek to solve the problems we all face today? It can be separated into a few ways of thinking.