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The Modus Vivendi of Material Simplicity: Counteracting Scarcity via the Deflation of Wants

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  • Adel Daoud

Abstract

This paper studies how voluntary material simplicity may countervail the causal effect of relative scarcity generated by the environment of a consumer society. Analyses of both interviews and texts were performed. It is shown that voluntary material simplifiers manage, though with difficulty, to neutralize the causal effect of consumer society. This is achieved by mediating the cultural properties of the economic ethic of material simplicity, which promotes the deflation of human wants. These simplifiers consequently manage, though with difficulty due to causal interference, to deflate their material wants and maintain them below their material means. Consequently, they actualize the modus vivendi of material simplicity; namely, a practical state of relative abundance. One major implication of this study is that the scarcity postulate of mainstream economics is problematically formulated. Hence, the development of a new model of relative scarcity and abundance encourages an explanation rather than an assumption of scarcity.

Suggested Citation

  • Adel Daoud, 2011. "The Modus Vivendi of Material Simplicity: Counteracting Scarcity via the Deflation of Wants," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 69(3), pages 275-305, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rsocec:v:69:y:2011:i:3:p:275-305
    DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2010.502832
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    Cited by:

    1. Phillip Vannini & Jonathan Taggart, 2013. "Voluntary Simplicity, Involuntary Complexities, and the Pull of Remove: The Radical Ruralities of off-Grid Lifestyles," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(2), pages 295-311, February.
    2. Daoud, Adel, 2018. "Unifying Studies of Scarcity, Abundance, and Sufficiency," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 208-217.
    3. Jonas B{aa}{aa}th & Adel Daoud, 2020. "Extending Social Resource Exchange to Events of Abundance and Sufficiency," Papers 2010.02658, arXiv.org.
    4. Plomteux, Adrien, 2024. "Frugal abundance: Conceptualisation for degrowth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    5. Rafi M. M. I. Chowdhury, 2018. "Religiosity and Voluntary Simplicity: The Mediating Role of Spiritual Well-Being," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 149-174, September.
    6. Daoud, Adel, 2021. "Abundance," OSF Preprints 7xbv9, Center for Open Science.

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