Voluntary simplicity.

McDonald, Seonaidh

Abstract

Etzioni describes voluntary simplifiers (VS) as people who choose, 'out of free will - rather than by being coerced by poverty, government austerity programs, or being imprisoned - to limit expenditures on consumer goods and services, and to cultivate non-materialistic sources of satisfaction and meaning' (1998:620). Although there are many different definitions of voluntary simplicity (Johnston & Burton, 2003), this definition is useful because it includes the three major elements that set this movement apart from others: free will; limiting consumerism; and alternative sources of satisfaction.

Citation

MCDONALD, S. 2013. Voluntary simplicity. In Parker, M., Cheney, G., Fournier, V. and Land, C. (eds.) The Routledge companion to alternative organization. Abingdon: Routledge, chapter 14, pages 210-235.

• Publication Date: Dec 17, 2013
• Deposit Date: Sep 21, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 21, 2016
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 210-235
• Book Title: The Routledge companion to alternative organization
• Chapter Number: Chapter 14
• ISBN: 9780415782265
• Keywords: Voluntary simplicity; Consumer lifestyles; Austerity
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/1826
• Contract Date: Sep 21, 2016