a life of 'voluntary simplicity'

Last Saturday at the Compostmodern 08 conference, I heard for the first time the technical term for living a simple life, with less stuff but better stuff: 'voluntary simplicity'.

To me, it was surprising that some had coined such a serious name for such appeased lifestyle. It is interesting to observe how the naming and labeling of movements help them spread so much quicker than undefined or ambiguously branded movements.

Think about the music movements for a moment: once you can label 2 or 3 music bands that have similar style with a unique label (think 'Nirvana + Soundgarden + Pearl Jam = Grunge music = the soundtrack of Generation X) you immediately have an abstract labeling entity that people can attach themselves and their personality to (and they can talk about it and spread it in a more agile way).

So considering the gradual increase of meme-ability of the Simple Life:

• What will happen to the consumer markets if the voluntary simplicity or simple living, catches among people?
• How the companies who are in the business of selling a lot of stuff will react to people demanding less stuff? What role will design play in this transformation?
• Is there a connection between the simple life (less stuff but also sharing stuff) and the transformation of western societies from 'industralized' economies to 'servicized' economies (the private non-good producing industries account for approximately 70% of total economic activity in the US)?

Photo: Duane Hanson, "Traveller"