TEACHING VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY AND ANTI-CONSUMPTION: A BASIC FRAMEWORK PROVIDING ORIENTATION FOR THE WORK WITH RECENT RESEARCH

Abstract

The phenomena of voluntary simplicity and anti-consumption gain increasing awareness in the light of post-CoV debates on climate change and degrowth. Yet, the field lacks clear definitions and categorizations that make the vast amount of research hard to abstract for academic teaching purposes. This paper aims to bypass definitional shortcomings by introducing a meta-theoretical framework based on the three classic paradigms of sociology. Applying this framework shows that (1) the functionalist perspective provides a theoretical basis for presenting the phenomena as evolutionary adaptions to the need for sustainability or as gradual deviances from mainstream consumerism on a macro level. In contrast, (2) interactionism and phenomenology as the main theoretical and methodological source of sociological research in the field highlight the aspects of personal motivation for consuming less and the subsequent ramifications for individual wellbeing on the micro level. Finally, (3) the disruptive potential of consumer resistance associated with voluntary simplicity and anti-consumption can be theoretically visualized through the lens of conflict theory and postmodern perspectives.