Voluntary simplification as an alternative to collapse

Abstract

Purpose -This paper aims to re-examine Tainter's dismissal of the voluntary simplification strategy. Joseph Tainter argues that "sustainability" is about problem-solving and that problem-solving increases social complexity. But he also argues that social complexity requires energy and resources, and this implies that solving problems, including environmental problems, usually demands increases in energy and resource consumption, not reductions. For this reason Tainter argues that voluntary simplification -the strategy of choosing to reduce consumption -is not an available means of solving the problems of civilisation. Design/methodology/approach -This paper briefly outlines Tainter's theory of diminishing returns on complexity and lays out his arguments against voluntary simplification. The critical sections of the paper examine those arguments and find certain ambiguities in them that open up space of voluntary simplification.Findings -Part of my disagreement with Tainter turns on differing notions of "sustainability." Whereas Tainter seems to use sustainability to mean sustaining the existing civilisation, the author uses sustainability to mean changing the form of civilisation through voluntary simplification, insofar as that is required for humanity to operate within the carrying capacity of the planet. By exposing the indeterminate, value-laden nature of what constitutes a "problem" and what constitutes an appropriate "solution," it becomes clear that some societal problems can be dissolved rather than solved, that problems have various solutions and that a society's available energy supply can be redistributed to achieve voluntary simplification while still solving existing and ongoing problems. Originality/value -Given that Tainter seems to accept that his own conception of sustainability will eventually lead to collapse, the author feels he is wrong to be so dismissive of voluntary simplification as a strategy for potentially avoiding collapse. It is, the author argues, our only alternative to collapse, and if that is so, voluntary simplification ought to be given our most rigorous attention and commitment, even if the chances of success do not seem high at all. This paper provides a new analysis of the voluntary simplification strategy and shows that it holds more promise than Tainter appreciates.

Voluntary simplicity: A literature review and research agenda

“…Conceptual papers 33 Read et al (2018), Buell (2005), Elgin and Mitchell (1977), Alexander (2013), Olsen (1981), Haenfler et al (2012), Connolly and Shaw (2006), Kasser (2009), Etzioni ( 2004), Alexander (2012), Gambrel and Cafaro (2010), Romano (2012), Alexander (2011), Hall (2011, Kronenberg andIida (2011), Garcia-Ruiz andRodriguez-Lluesma (2014), Librova (2008), Meier (2000), Feola (2014), Rudmin (1990), Leisinger (1998), Leipämaa-Leskinen et al (2016), Friedman andFriedman (2010), Whitney Sanford (2013), Kannisto (2018), Van Steenbergen and Feller (1979), Nefat (2016), Alexander (2014, Fraňková and Johanisová (2013), Kaynak and Eksi (2013), Hellöre (2008), Little (1995), Williams (1984) Quantitative studies Surveys 31 Kuanr et al (2020), Peifer et al (2020, Lee (2019), Balderjahn and Hüttel (2019), Taljaard and Sonnenberg (2019), Kropfeld et al (2018), Bayat and Sezer (2018), Chowdhury (2018), …”

The Political Economy of Deep Decarbonization: Tradable Energy Quotas for Energy Descent Futures

“…While we fully endorse the goal of transitioning to RE, we contend it is plausible that a full transition would entail 'energy descent' relative to the availability of energy services in developed regions of the world today [20][21][22][23][24]. Given that the degree of socio-political complexity, in Tainter's sense, that can be maintained by a society is dependent on available resources, reduced energy availability is likely to drive significant deintensification of economies, and with this, reduction in socio-political complexity, whether enforced through circumstances that overwhelm human agency, or voluntarily embraced [19,25]. As discussed in the introduction, even if energy services are not supply-constrained, other biosphere impacts resulting from continued exercise of physical power at the current historically extreme level must at some point force a confrontation with the need for contraction in human energy conversions, and hence with the prospect of reducing socio-political complexity.…”

“…TEQs could therefore act as a vital support for the controlled reduction of socio-political complexity via processes of 'voluntary simplification' and economic 'deintensification' (the result of these processes being 'degrowth' or controlled contraction in the scale of the physical economy [17,18]). We therefore distinguish voluntary simplification from the similar term 'voluntary simplicity', with the latter generally referring to individuals consuming less within existing structures, and the former referring to a reconfiguration of systems and structures to manage, or actively induce, reduced socio-economic complexity [19]. Structural voluntary simplification, in this sense, would likely require cultural voluntary simplicity, but the converse need not be true.…”

Some behavioral aspects of energy descent: how a biophysical psychology might help people transition through the lean times ahead

“…It may be reasonable to expect the periods in-between each downshift to be stable enough to allow time for exploring and experimenting with alternative life patterns. These intervals also may provide the time needed to build resilience into social and community systems and thus allow these systems to better deal with the next ecological or societal step down ( Alexander, 2012 ).…”