133 of 135 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Simple Book ..., August 14, 2000
This book, a gift from a friend, was a simple read - I am surprised by some of the reviews that confuse the thoughts in here with Marxism, since I didn't find much of that. In fact, Elgin's book is filled with quotes from world religions, citing the reasons we truly need to live a simpler life. I sat reading this book, surrounded with my stacks of books and clothing - "things" I do not need but want - and can afford to get. Halfway through reading, I felt supported in my firm desire (and so far feeble efforts) to continue unloading my home of excesses while downsizing my "wants."
Elgin offers this support in a gentle and convincing way - he offers no directions, for he says "Because simplicity has as much to do with each person's purpose in living as it does with his or her standard of living, it follows that there is no single, "right and true" way to live more ecologically and compassionately."
His goal is to move his readers to live more simply because it makes more sense, not because we are told we 'should' do so, or because it is a trend. He hopes to move us from within.
He offers compassionate, thoughtful reasons to live with less "things." He also gives a history of simplicity's roots - using thoughts from a diversity of views: Christian, Eastern, early Greek, Puritan, Transcendental, and (one of my favorites, of course!) Quakers. He recalls an experience he had with Elise Boulding, a well known Quaker, which helped move him more toward voluntary simplicity (worth reading the book just to experience this with him.)
It makes more sense, according to Elgin, for the good of the planet, of other human beings, of our children's future, of our own quality of life, now. And the reasons are many - not economical OR spiritual OR environmental OR community - but any and all of those (a reader can focus on one that moves the individual)
He offers information on ways of thinking and acting that lead to a simpler life, and though I fall way short in my own actions and behaviors, I never felt judged. I did feel moved. In his final section on revitalization, he offers ideas for how we might make simplicity happen. Most of what he says I liked, though I'm not fond of his idea that "voluntary" changes in consumption would be made if a higher tax was applied to "luxury goods, gasoline, alcohol and cigarettes." While that might make changes, they would certainly not be "voluntary." However, that is one small suggestion, not a fixed line.
I especially liked his People Living the Simple Life chapter, with bits from people who found easy ways to simplify their lives.
This book goes on my gift list for friends who need encouragement, not specific 'how-to directions', in living the simpler life.
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68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Calm, Patient Style Befitting the Subject Matter, December 24, 2000
This is one of the landmark works of the simplicity movement. In contrast to the Dominguez' Your Money or Your Life, Mr. Elgin places his focus on describing the reasons for his advocacy for a voluntary alteration to a less consumptive lifestyle. The book's style is easy and accessible. The author uses a number of quotations and very brief anecdotes from survey respondents to make the argument that people should scale back into less material obsession and consumption as a way of attaining a more "conscious" life.
The reader is left convinced of the author's sincerity, and of the virtue of stepping away from rampant materialism, but the casual assumptions embedded in the book (the inherent error in modern corporate life, the somewhat leery viewpoint toward some forms of technology) seem a bit unexamined for a work considering the social implications of a more examined life.
Still, although I was not swept away with all the ideas herein, this is a well-written book with some real ideas, and deserves the cult status popularity it has achieved.
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79 of 88 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Voluntary Simplicity:Toward A Way of Life..., September 14, 2002
Elgin has been hailed, by some, as a guru of the simplicity movement, yet I was disappointed with the content of this book. He attempted to give a philosophical framework for the movement and did a good job exploring the possibilities of this type of lifestyle.
Yet, I found his philosophical examination of "religions" and the human condition to be lacking. He did a poor job of relaying the true messages of different spiritual pathways, and instead twisted them to match the simplicity movement. Furthermore, his attempts at showing what the simplicity movement will result in are at times accurate, yet often they are mere speculation. Elgin assumes that simplicity provides that satisfaction that the soul longs for, which simply isn't true. Simplicity can relieve stress, help our ecology, and help us live a more conscious and fruitful life. But ultimately, the soul longs for more than simplicity, decluttering, developing community and having more time.
I think this book would have hit the mark if the author would have spent less time trying to oversimply the spiritual pathways of the world, and instead given us more practical examples of the voluntary simplicity movement. More "how-to's" and less philosophy.
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