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Jan 29, 2013 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Has Civilization a Future? Simplicity Institute Report by Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich

Can a collapse of civilization be avoided? This is the bold question Paul and Anne Ehrlich, from Stanford University, confront in their challenging new essay, published today by the Simplicity Institute. Paul Ehrlich has been amongst the most prominent figures in the Environmental Movement ever since his 1968 publication of The Population Bomb. I’ve posted the introduction below and the full... read more

Nov 13, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Sufficiency Economy: Envisioning a Prosperous Way Down

Below I’ve posted the introduction to my new essay, “The Sufficiency Economy: Envisioning a Prosperous Way Down.” This essay, which I feel is the clearest expression of my views, summarises the critique of growth economics and then describes in some detail what I consider to be the most promising alternative model – ‘a sufficiency economy.’ The full essay can be read... read more

Sep 29, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Radical Simplicity and the Middle-Class: Exploring the Lifestyle Implications of a ‘Great Disruption’

Below I have posted my new Simplicity Institute Report, “Radical Simplicity and the Middle-Class: Exploring the Lifestyle Implications of a ‘Great Disruption.'” The report has also been published with the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia and the PDF is available here. 1. Introduction How would the ordinary middle-class consumer – I should say middle-class citizen – deal... read more

Aug 6, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Degrowth, Expensive Oil, and the New Economics of Energy

The PDF is available here: “Degrowth, Expensive Oil, and the New Economics of Energy“ Our understandings and expectations of the world have been shaped by our experience of economic growth. The dynamic stability of that growth has habituated us to what is ‘normal.’ That normal must soon shatter. – David Korowicz Samuel Alexander[1] 1. Preparing for Life after Growth In this post I... read more

Jul 3, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Resilience through Simplification: Revisiting Tainter’s Theory of Collapse

A society or other institution can be destroyed by the cost of sustaining itself. – Joseph Tainter I managed to write one final paper prior to the new semester beginning, this time on the subject of Joseph Tainter’s theory of complexity and collapse. The paper has just been published with the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia and will be also published in two parts on the Energy... read more

Jun 16, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

What will Rio+20 bring?

My article below, on the Rio+20 conference, has just been published on the Post-Carbon Institute’s Energy Bulletin, available here. In a few days the international community will be meeting in Rio de Janeiro to hold the most significant environmental conference since the Rio Earth Summit of 1992. As the planet’s ecosystems tremble under the weight of overconsumption, this conference surely... read more

Jun 10, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Life After the Peak

The following short article has just appeared in this month’s edition of Issues magazine (Vol: 99, pp40-43). It is adapted from my much longer article, ‘Peak Oil, Energy Descent, and the Fate of Consumerism,’ which is available here. The PDF of the article below is available here. Evidence is mounting that the age of cheap energy – the age of cheap oil, in particular – is... read more

May 30, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Voluntary Simplicity, Degrowth, and Peak Oil

Over the last few years I’ve written a bunch of papers and articles focusing on voluntary simplicity, degrowth, and peak oil. With the new university semester fast approaching, my time available to write long papers is going to diminish, so I thought I’d list my publications to date, with links to most of the full working papers, excluding book chapters. (N.B. The working papers linked below... read more

Apr 9, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Ted Trainer and The Simpler Way (Review Essay)

I’m very pleased to announce that Ted Trainer has joined the Simplicity Institute, and in recognition of this important event I’ve spent the last week writing a review essay of his work, which I’ve posted below. Ted has been writing about The Simpler Way for many years, and in coming weeks and months he will be publishing a series of essays on the Simplicity Institute website (which I... read more

Mar 18, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Living Better on Less? Toward an Economics of Sufficiency

My last article summarised a longer paper I have just finished called “Living Better on Less? Toward an Economics of Sufficiency.” This paper reviews the social research that examines the relationship between income and happiness. The central question I ask is: How important is money to happiness? The weight of evidence suggests that income growth tends to contribute positively to human... read more

Invitation / Incitation

The Simplicity Collective is founded upon the idea that a 'simpler life' of reduced resource and energy consumption is a viable and desirable alternative to consumer culture.

Our position is that simple living will improve not only our own lives, but the lives of others, as well as help save our planet from the environmental catastrophe towards which we are so enthusiastically marching.

We must not just fall in line, then, and continue the march ‘business as usual.’ We must explore alternative ways to live. We must experiment creatively, like the artist. We must be the poets of our own lives and of a new generation.