Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin (2010)

The author of this blog, driven to the brink of insanity by his consumerist, antisocial, ecologically unfriendly lifestyle, interviews himself about Duane Elgin's book Voluntary Simplicity.

A1: So what's this book about?

A2: Voluntary simplicity.

A1: Uh... yeah I know that.  It is the title, after all.  But what is voluntary simplicity?

A2: It's like, making your life simpler and stuff.

A1: OK, but can you elaborate on that?

A2: What's "elaborate"?

A1: Can you tell me more?

A2: Well, it's like our planet is all messed up and stuff, because some people are poor and other people are rich, and we're, like, going to run out of oil soon, and the environment's, like, got all these problems, and stuff like that.

A1: Got ya, but where does voluntary simplicity come into the picture?

A2: What picture?

A1: I mean, what does voluntary simplicity have to do with the degradation of our environment and worldwide income disparities?

A2: Huh?

A1: What does voluntary simplicity have to do with the planet being, like, all messed up and stuff?

A2: Oh, OK.  Well if we just lived simpler then the world would get better.

A1: Understood.  And how does the book suggest we go about living more simply?

A2: I doesn't suggest anything, man.

A1: What?

A2: That's like, you know, everyone's journey man.  I can't tell you how to live simply, and you can't tell me how to live simply.  So we just have to, like, discover that for ourselves!

A1: OK, but it's kind of a long book...

A2: Yeah, but that's it man.

A1: Really?  That's all the book says?  That the world is messed up and we have to live a simpler life?

A2: Yeah.

A1: And it took the author almost 200 pages to say that?

A2: Yeah, man.  I know, right?  Changed my life for sure!