Most people think simplicity is just about saving money. Too many people are looking for temporary ways to be frugal, planning to go back to their profligate spending when the economy improves. But my forthcoming book is called Less is More, a broader approach to simplicity. It's fun to do a "fill in the blank" game. Take this sentence: Less consumerism is more ______________. More what?
I did this recently with a group of Unitarians and we got a lot of interesting responses. There were the obvious ones like, Less consumerism is more savings. But there were other, more unique, responses:
Less consumerism is more generosity: There is something about focusing on more, more, more in the consumer society that seems to make people selfish. They never feel they have enough, so they're sure not going to share anything.
Less consumerism means more creativity: In the consumer society, when you run into a problem, you buy something to solve it. But when you resist that impulse, you become more creative in you problem solving.
Less consumerism is more balance: We're all ultimately looking for lives of balance. In particular, we're sick of our frantic, frenetic lives. People who consume less usually have less debt, often allowing them to cut back on their work hours and take the time for things like exercise, reading, and naps , activities that bring balance.
Maybe my favorite is: Less consumerism is more reflection: If there's anything we need in the culture is time to think, time to make conscious decisions, and shopping takes a lot of time! (Further, almost nothing works, so you have to take it back, having more of your time stolen from you). In fact, that's the way I define simplicity: It's the "examined life," taking time to think through your decisions and choosing what's best for the welfare of people and the planet.
Try it yourself. Thinking about this will lead you to conclude that less consumerism means more life.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Simplicity and the Economic Crisis
The Simplicity movement needs to move beyond individual solutions. Personal change is imperative, but we need to propose larger solutions. We need to respond to the economic crisis in more ways than just recommending that people turn their heat down or drive a Prius.
What do we have to say that would provide more jobs without contributing to global warming? The government should subsidize service jobs, jobs that help people but don't involve just building more things. And one efficient way to do it would be to expand successful programs. For instance, take the college work/study programs. We could expand this to small businesses and non profit agencies. The government would contribute 80% and the employer 20%. Since these enterprises are small and there is always lots to do, the new people could be put to work immediately. This would avoid a huge bureaucracy and would benefit people directly, both the new job holders and the recipients of the services. Further, these jobs wouldn't be as expensive and could employ more women and older people than the infrastructure jobs we hear so much about. (projects that can't be started fast and would cost more in the way of materials.)
What do we have to say that would provide more jobs without contributing to global warming? The government should subsidize service jobs, jobs that help people but don't involve just building more things. And one efficient way to do it would be to expand successful programs. For instance, take the college work/study programs. We could expand this to small businesses and non profit agencies. The government would contribute 80% and the employer 20%. Since these enterprises are small and there is always lots to do, the new people could be put to work immediately. This would avoid a huge bureaucracy and would benefit people directly, both the new job holders and the recipients of the services. Further, these jobs wouldn't be as expensive and could employ more women and older people than the infrastructure jobs we hear so much about. (projects that can't be started fast and would cost more in the way of materials.)
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Simplicity and Obama’s Inaugural Address
If anyone wonders what the Simplicity movement is about, they need only read Obama’s inaugural speech, because his underlying themes strongly support the values of this movement. Let me select a few of his phrases (in bold face) to show you what I mean.
First, most basic of all, Simplicity is about challenging the belief system that the pursuit of wealth is the ultimate human goal. Or, as Obama put it, the greatness of the United States has not been built by those who “ seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.” He goes further — he blames our crumbling economy on “greed and irresponsiblity.” Obama understands that there is more to life than making money.
But the Simplicity movement advocates more than just personal downshifting in order to experience the satisfactions that come from reducing our outward wealth so that we have greater inner wealth. We also are committed to policies that create greater national well being — in particular, an economy that reduces the gap between the rich and the poor. Why? Because a large wealth gap creates a cutthroat economy with people scrambling for more, worried they’ll be left out in the cold. This mad scramble creates a society of “me first” that undermines the common good. The only way we can be free of this obsession with more is when that gap is reduced and we are equal and we realize that we’re all in this together.
As Obama puts it, we must “promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.... and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
Obama also focuses on some of the specifics of the Simplicity movement. One of our central concerns is that our egregious consumerism, which is based on oil, destroys the earth and sends us into wars: As Obama puts it, “each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.” He continues: that we must “roll back the specter of a warming planet.”
Obama echoes one of the Simplicity movement long standing protests: that the US has only 5% of the Earth’s population, but uses more than 25% of the world’s energy: “And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect.”
Finally, those of us in the Simplicity movement have long advocated regulation of the economy — Obama says that “this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control.”
Further, those of us who have been spokespersons for the Simplicity movement have always been challenged with the taunt: “What if everyone cut back on their spending? What would that do to the economy?” Well, it wasn’t us who undermined the economy! It was the reckless spenders, both large and small! We in the Simplicity movement continue to answer that question with : “What’s an economy for? So that s few can become egregiously rich? Or is it for the greater good for the greater number?” To bring about that change we need regulation.
Obama’s expression of the values of the Simplicity movement is very inspiring. But there’s one little item that I suspect few people really appreciated: He spoke of “the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job.” The Simplicity movement has long advocated a reduction of work hours as a way to improve people’s well being. And in these times, it’s interesting to note that this was a strategy used during the Depression: The Kellog Company reduced the work week to thirty hours so that they could spread the jobs around and reduce unemployment. No only did this help with the economy, but the Kellog workers came to understand one of the central tenants of the Simplicity movement: We must have more time for the things that are important. We can’t spend all of our hours in the workplace. Our health, our relationships — and even our democracy — all suffer.
When we talk about living simply, it’s not just about saving the planet or the economy, it’s about having the time for friends, family, and citizen involvement — relationships. The happiness research tells us that, after a certain point, more money does not increase happiness. The core of happiness is relationships, and our time starved, frenetic lifesyles, in their pursuit of “the pleasures of riches and fame,” have robbed us of that happiness.
It’s clear that Obama understands the Simplicity movement, and those of us in the movement who worked hard for his election can feel particularly gratified.
First, most basic of all, Simplicity is about challenging the belief system that the pursuit of wealth is the ultimate human goal. Or, as Obama put it, the greatness of the United States has not been built by those who “ seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.” He goes further — he blames our crumbling economy on “greed and irresponsiblity.” Obama understands that there is more to life than making money.
But the Simplicity movement advocates more than just personal downshifting in order to experience the satisfactions that come from reducing our outward wealth so that we have greater inner wealth. We also are committed to policies that create greater national well being — in particular, an economy that reduces the gap between the rich and the poor. Why? Because a large wealth gap creates a cutthroat economy with people scrambling for more, worried they’ll be left out in the cold. This mad scramble creates a society of “me first” that undermines the common good. The only way we can be free of this obsession with more is when that gap is reduced and we are equal and we realize that we’re all in this together.
As Obama puts it, we must “promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.... and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
Obama also focuses on some of the specifics of the Simplicity movement. One of our central concerns is that our egregious consumerism, which is based on oil, destroys the earth and sends us into wars: As Obama puts it, “each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.” He continues: that we must “roll back the specter of a warming planet.”
Obama echoes one of the Simplicity movement long standing protests: that the US has only 5% of the Earth’s population, but uses more than 25% of the world’s energy: “And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect.”
Finally, those of us in the Simplicity movement have long advocated regulation of the economy — Obama says that “this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control.”
Further, those of us who have been spokespersons for the Simplicity movement have always been challenged with the taunt: “What if everyone cut back on their spending? What would that do to the economy?” Well, it wasn’t us who undermined the economy! It was the reckless spenders, both large and small! We in the Simplicity movement continue to answer that question with : “What’s an economy for? So that s few can become egregiously rich? Or is it for the greater good for the greater number?” To bring about that change we need regulation.
Obama’s expression of the values of the Simplicity movement is very inspiring. But there’s one little item that I suspect few people really appreciated: He spoke of “the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job.” The Simplicity movement has long advocated a reduction of work hours as a way to improve people’s well being. And in these times, it’s interesting to note that this was a strategy used during the Depression: The Kellog Company reduced the work week to thirty hours so that they could spread the jobs around and reduce unemployment. No only did this help with the economy, but the Kellog workers came to understand one of the central tenants of the Simplicity movement: We must have more time for the things that are important. We can’t spend all of our hours in the workplace. Our health, our relationships — and even our democracy — all suffer.
When we talk about living simply, it’s not just about saving the planet or the economy, it’s about having the time for friends, family, and citizen involvement — relationships. The happiness research tells us that, after a certain point, more money does not increase happiness. The core of happiness is relationships, and our time starved, frenetic lifesyles, in their pursuit of “the pleasures of riches and fame,” have robbed us of that happiness.
It’s clear that Obama understands the Simplicity movement, and those of us in the movement who worked hard for his election can feel particularly gratified.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Simplicity Quotation: plentitude
"plentitude—the sufficiency that liberates from need and greed."
Theodore Roszak, The Making of a Counter Culture and The Making of an Elder Culture.
This is a nice way to think about Simplicity. If it doesn't feel liberating, you're not doing it right. I like this because it calls for reflection on our part. There's no rule that tells you that you can't own a car or watch television.... it suggests that you must decide about the point at which you rise above need and greed, that you have enough. This is plentitude.
Theodore Roszak, The Making of a Counter Culture and The Making of an Elder Culture.
This is a nice way to think about Simplicity. If it doesn't feel liberating, you're not doing it right. I like this because it calls for reflection on our part. There's no rule that tells you that you can't own a car or watch television.... it suggests that you must decide about the point at which you rise above need and greed, that you have enough. This is plentitude.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Social Support guards against a bad economy
What would Reagan say? When Russia switched from a communist economy to a capitalist free market economy, life expectancy for men dropped from 67 to 60. A similar drop occurred in most of the former Soviet countries, a new study says.
There were a few exceptions where this didn't happen Poland and the Czech Republic. What was the difference? Social support.
:
"The authors suggest that the existence of trade unions, churches, sports, political organizations and other social organizations played a significant role in cushioning adults’ stress during the transitions.
“In countries in which more than 45 percent of the population was a member of a social organization, mass privatization had no significant adverse association with mortality rates,” the report said."
As we face the traumas of our economy, we need to make sure there is this kind of support. We need to create community to help people weather the storm.
There were a few exceptions where this didn't happen Poland and the Czech Republic. What was the difference? Social support.
:
"The authors suggest that the existence of trade unions, churches, sports, political organizations and other social organizations played a significant role in cushioning adults’ stress during the transitions.
“In countries in which more than 45 percent of the population was a member of a social organization, mass privatization had no significant adverse association with mortality rates,” the report said."
As we face the traumas of our economy, we need to make sure there is this kind of support. We need to create community to help people weather the storm.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Less is More Democracy
At the heart of both Simplicity and Democracy is deliberation. Thoreau said,
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately..." This means making conscious choices in terms of the well being of people and the planet. This is at the hear of living simply, and certainly of Democracy. Find ways to create more deliberation in your own life as well as coming together with others to deliberate. To do this, we need to slow down and find time to pursue the things that matter.
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately..." This means making conscious choices in terms of the well being of people and the planet. This is at the hear of living simply, and certainly of Democracy. Find ways to create more deliberation in your own life as well as coming together with others to deliberate. To do this, we need to slow down and find time to pursue the things that matter.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Hello Everyone!
I'm excited to be starting a new blog around the themes of voluntary simplicity and "less is more." With the economy circling the drain, the concepts of simplifying, slowing down and reducing our footprint on the earth have sparked huge interest. It's too bad it took a loser of a President and an economic meltdown to achieve it, but any wakeup call in our dire circumstances is worth it.
Anyway, I wanted to say hello and happy holidays, and watch this space!
Anyway, I wanted to say hello and happy holidays, and watch this space!
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