Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
clothes and shoes). It is arguably this last category
of goods (namely the ones that we already own but
may wish to upgrade) that is the most important
to producers and advertisers alike. While there
are clear limits and heavy costs associated with
the development of totally new products, the
ability to refine and update existing products
has been central to the continued growth of the
modern consumer market. In his influential book
Affluenza
, Oliver James (2007: 16) quotes an ad
executive who summed up this perspective in the
following words, ' “What makes this country great
is the creation of want and desires, the creation of
dissatisfaction with the old and outmoded” '.
The modern tendency towards the over-
consumption of goods has had social and
environmental consequences. At a social level,
Oliver James (2007) describes the emergence of
what he terms an 'affluenza virus' within the
western world. Affluenza is a form of social illness,
in and through which we tend to judge ourselves,
and those around us, on the basis of what we have
overconsumption
The Voluntary Simplicity Movement (VSM) is a new social movement that emphasizes the value of
simplifying our complex and increasingly stressful lives. VSM started in Seattle in the 1980s, as a
reaction against the materialist culture that was emerging in Reagan-era America (Blumenthal and
Mosteller, 2008). The basic message behind the movement is that people should free their lives up
from the many possessions that they have accumulated, and which fill up all of our cupboards and
loft spaces. Mary Grigsby, who wrote a book on VSM entitled
Buying Time and Getting By (2004),
explains the principles of the movement in the following way, 'The idea in the movement was
“everything you own owns you”. You have to care for it, store it. It becomes an appendage'
(Blumenthal and Mosteller, 2008). On these terms, voluntary simplicity encourages individuals to
avoid the burdens associated with overconsumption and re-evaluate the things that are of real
importance in their lives. Thus it is clear that VSM is a social response to Fordist-era norms of
economic growth and development.
Over the last few years there is evidence that VSM appears to be on the rise again (see Alexander,
2013). While the re-emergence of VSM is, in part, an attempt to encourage the development of new
forms of social values, it also has practical benefits. Recent years in North America and Europe have
seen the emergence of a new industry, the self-storage sector. For a fee, self-storage businesses
lease storage space to households who simply have no further room in their houses and outbuildings
for all the possessions they own. In many ways the self-storage sector is a logical economic outcome
of Fordist-era consumption patterns.
Key readings
Alexander, S. (2013) 'Voluntary Simplicity and the social reconstruction of law: Degrowth from the grassroots
up', Environmental Values 22: 287-308
Blumenthal, R. and Mosteller, R. (2008) 'Voluntary Simplicity Movement re-emerges',
New York Times,
18 May
Grigsby, M. (2004) Buying Time and Getting By: The Voluntary Simplicity Movement, SUNY Press, Albany, NY
For more information on contemporary manifestations of VSM go to the Simplicity Institute's homepage at:
http://simplicityinstitute.org/
