Simplicity Collective - Join the Simple Living Movement

Apr 23, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Urban Food Forests: A Policy Proposal

Relocalising food production – especially in urban centres – is absolutely critical to decarbonising our economies and making our communities more resilient. My vision of a sustainable urban landscape is one where the streets are lined with fruit and nut trees, supplying the community with a greater portion of its own food. The City of Moreland (my local Council in Melbourne) is in the process... 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 28, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Post Carbon Pathways

This month the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute and the Centre for Policy Development, at Melbourne University, released a major report, entitled “Post Carbon Pathways: Reviewing Post Carbon Economy Transition Strategies.” Authored by John Wiseman and Taegen Edwards, this report provides an overview of the key goals and priorities of 18 of the most ambitious, promising and innovative... 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

Mar 16, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Simple Life has Benefits for All of Us

The following article was published in The Age today (16 March). The online newspaper version is available here. Increasing material wealth has been, and remains, one of the dominant goals of humankind – perhaps the dominant goal. This is hardly surprising, of course, given the extremely low material living standards endured by most people throughout history, and indeed, by great multitudes around the... read more

Mar 6, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Questioning the Growth Imperative

This post has been published recently in Green (the publication of the Australian Greens), Issue 35, p9. Celebrated economist, Sir John Hicks, began one of his essays with the pronouncement, ‘We are living in an age of growth.’ It is a view that applies more so today than ever before, at least as a statement of economic desire, if not as a description of recent economic reality. As the world economy... read more

Mar 3, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Sustainability in Fiction: Black Cow by Magdalena Ball

Magdalena Ball, one of the readers of this website, has just published a book of fiction called Black Cow, which explores themes related consumerism and sustainability. Below she provides an overview of her novel. Thanks to Maggie for her efforts, and congratulations for bringing this work to fruition. Freya and James Archer live the high life in a luxury home in Sydney’s poshest suburb, with money,... read more

Feb 28, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

There’s No Tomorrow (Film)

Ignoring the rather gloomy title, I highly recommend this new educational video on peak oil and economic growth. It’s a very engaging summary of many of the issues related to peak oil and resource depletion, and it’s essentially a short (34mins) visual expression of my recent paper, “Peak Oil, Energy Descent, and the Fate of Consumerism,” which is available here. To watch the video,... read more

Feb 25, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

A shout out to all Melbournians: Transition Coburg is screening “The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil” this Sunday (today) 26 February at 3pm, the Coburg Library (access in the side door, from the Coburg Mall). This is an inspiring film about how Cuba relocalised its food production almost overnight…. when they had to. Food for thought. Hope to see some of you there.... read more

Feb 23, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Overcoming Barriers to Sustainable Consumption

Our country is set up structurally to oppose voluntary simplicity. – Michael Jacobson Our lifestyle decisions, especially our consumption decisions, are not made in a vacuum. Instead, they are made within social, economic, and political structures of constraint, and those structures make some lifestyle decisions easy or necessary and other lifestyle decisions difficult or impossible. Change the social,... read more

Feb 17, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Simpler Way: A Practical Action Plan for Living More on Less

I’m pleased and excited to announce the launch of the latest initiative of the Simplicity Institute – The Simpler Way: A Practical Action Plan for Living More on Less. ____ The Simpler Way, created in collaboration with Ted Trainer, consists of a website and booklet which provide detailed practical advice on how to live a ‘simpler life’ of reduced and restrained consumption. More... read more

Feb 13, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The High Price of Materialism

Tim Kasser is a psychologist that has spent many years researching into the effects of materialistic values and practices on human wellbeing. I highly recommend his excellent book, “The High Price of Materialism,” but for those who only have five minutes to spare, many of the key insights of that text are summarised in a new educational video Kasser has made. It’s only five minutes long,... read more

Feb 3, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

David Holmgren: Retrofitting the Suburbs for Sustainability

Exciting news for all Melbournians: David Holmgren, co-originator of the ‘permaculture’ concept, is giving a free lunchtime talk at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre on 16 February 2012. His subject is ‘Retrofitting the Suburbs for Sustainability,” and it isn’t to be missed. David’s insight into the various social and ecological challenges of our times is unrivalled, and... read more

Feb 2, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Toward a Foucauldian Ethics of Sustainable Consumption

I’ve turned my last post ‘Self-Cultivation and the Art of Voluntary Simplicity’ into an essay, which itself is based on the rather-too-long manuscript I posted a few months ago, called ‘Voluntary Simplicity as an Aesthetics of Existence.’ I hope this much abridged essay might be less daunting, despite the fact that it is framed by Foucault’s ethics. I’ve posted the... read more

Jan 22, 2012 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Self-Cultivation and the Art of Voluntary Simplicity

Consumption is a proper subject of ethical concern primarily for the following three reasons: (1) the planet’s resources are being consumed at an unsustainable rate, and this is placing in jeopardy the future of life as we know it, with potentially catastrophic consequences; (2) a small percentage of the world’s population live in relative comfort and luxury while great multitudes live in material... 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.