Terms and Definitions

Voluntary Simplicity

Voluntary Simplicity (VS) is both an individual lifestyle choice and a growing social movement based on a system of values focused on reducing one's consumption, living with fewer possessions and developing deeper connections with one’s social and ecological community.

The voluntary component of VS denotes a selection that is deliberate and purposeful. In other words, a conscious choice in embracing VS over other lifestyles - in particular, the ‘more = better’ pursuit of wealth and consumption (VS is distinguished from poverty in that VS is a voluntary lifestyle choice; not one within which an individual is forced into because of economic or other reasons).

The simplicity aspect of VS, on the other hand, has a more fluid definition because it exists in varying degrees and manifestations, and because it is dependent on an individual’s own perspective and personal recognition of those aspects of their life that are unnecessarily complicated and cumbersome.

Although the primary motivation for an individual to choose VS may differ (e.g. global environmental concerns, spirituality, physical health, mental health such as stress reduction, quality of life, etc...), practitioners do share a common and general system of goals and values based upon intrinsic, versus extrinsic, pursuits.

Individuals who focus on extrinsic goals and values are marked by an acceptance and reliance on consumer culture and the organization of one’s life to revolve around the pursuit of wealth, the acquisition of possessions, and the attainment of image/status. VS practitioners, on the other hand, strive for an inwardly rich life focused on personal growth, affiliation, and community feeling/connection to others in addition to autonomy, authenticity, pursuit of fun nonconsummatory activities (e.g. hiking, painting, or playing music), family, volunteerism, financial independence, the pursuit of self-knowledge and self-acceptance, intimacy, and contribution to the community. According to Duane Elgin, “This way of life embraces frugality of consumption, a strong sense of environmental urgency, a desire to return to living and working environments which are of a more human scale, and an intention to realize our higher human potential – both psychological and spiritual – in community with others” (Elgin and Mitchell 1977). According to Elgin, VS helps “unburden ourselves [and] establish a more direct, unpretentious, and unencumbered relationship with all aspects of our lives: the things we consume, the work that we do, our relationships with others, our connections with nature and the cosmos…” (Elgin 1993). He continues to define VS as “a manner of living that is outwardly more simple and inwardly more rich, a way of being in which our most authentic and alive self is brought into direct and conscious contact with living… The objective is… living with balance in order to find a life of greater purpose, fulfillment, and satisfaction” (Elgin 1993).

Of course, most individuals place some level of emphasis on both extrinsic and intrinsic pursuits. The distinction is not either/or but, rather, that VS practitioners deliberately try to place far less emphasis on extrinsic aims and consciously pursue intrinsic goals..

VS is not only an individual lifestyle choice, however, but also a growing social movement; albeit in its early stages.

Indeed, through the internet, books, articles, eco-villages, social “simplicity circles” and other VS networks and organizations, more and more people are choosing VS as a lifestyle choice, spreading the news about how they pursue their VS goals, describing the benefits of a VS lifestyle (e.g. psychological, social, economic), and even forming intentional communities of individuals revolving around VS.

Subjective Well-Being and Happiness

Subjective Well-Being (SWB) refers to how people evaluate their lives and is the most widely accepted tool for measuring happiness and life satisfaction. It is an umbrella term that refers to all the positive and negative assessments people make of their lives, including both reflective cognitive evaluations (such as life satisfaction: how a respondent evaluates their life taken as a whole) and affective reactions to life events (such as ecstasy and rage). According to Diener (2005), “Although well-being and ill-being are ‘subjective’ in the sense that they occur within a person’s experience, manifestations of subjective well-being and ill-being can be observed objectively in verbal and nonverbal behavior, actions, biology, attention, and memory.”

A positive evaluation of SWB is generally synonymous with happiness, although happiness itself has a more diverse range of meanings in popular discourse and scholarly literature. As a result, some researchers avoid using the term happiness altogether, whereas others choose to use it frequently because of its importance in historical and popular thought.

Happiness itself has two distinct components: acute and authentic happiness. Acute happiness refers to brief emotional episodes (such as the joy an individual may feel when they have made a new purchase), whereas authentic happiness refers to an underlying state of satisfaction with one’s life (Seligman 2002). Often, what leads to acute happiness at a given moment in time may not be the same as what produces authentic happiness, or long-term positive SWB.

Neither SWB nor happiness are synonymous with mental/psychological health, however (Diener 1997). A psychotic, delusional or schizophrenic person might be happy with his life, for example, but a psychologist would not say that he possesses mental health. As a result, SWB alone is not a sufficient condition for psychological well-being.

Some have argued, however, that SWB is a necessary condition for mental health even though certain people function well in many aspects of their lives despite not experiencing overall happiness (e.g. dysphoric individuals who make significant contributions to society). The argument claims that a person cannot be functioning well if he or she is suffers from long-term or debilitating stress, anxiety, depression, etc... Nevertheless, the level of SWB that is optimal for mental health has not yet been determined (Diener, Suh and Oishi 1997).