>In Europe we hear a lot about the long lasting economic boom and the
>success in job creation in the USA.
>On the other hand we hear about the success of bestsellers like Your
>Money or Your Life or the simple living movement.
>
>I'd like to ask the members of this list how they see the interrelations
>and / or contradictions between the economic boom and the simple living
>movement.
>
>With best wishes from Austria / Europe,
>
>Robert Neunteufel
>
A few comments on this: First, not everyone benefits from the economic boom.
Here in Canada, it was recently announced that our unemployment rate has
fallen. However, this reflects decreased labour force participation rather
than a surge in employment. An increasing proportion of persons of labour
force age have not found a satisfactory place in the economy. For them,
simple living may be the only option. If they cannot find a place in the
mainstream economy, then perhaps, like the hippies of the sixties, they can
develop an alternative lifestyle. Second, many of the people who have a
place in the economy are working longer and more stressful hours. For them,
living more simply, having more time with family and friends, etc.,
represents an alternative to their increasingly harried lives, one that they
yearn for and achieve in part even if it is out of reach in total. Third, we
have a surfeit of consumers' goods, and even people who can afford just
about everything may be questioning whether they really need a minivan twice
as big as the one they have.
Ed Weick
