We can choose to live a simpler lifestyle as an act of:         

• Personal integrity and commitment to a more equitable distribution of wealth in the world.
• Self-defense against the mind-numbing effects of over-consumption.
• Sharing with others what has been given to us, or returning what we have unequally received at the expense of others around the globe.
• Withdrawal from the pressure of constant busyness and achievement in much of Western culture.
• Purchasing power to redirect what is produced away from satisfying artificially created wants, toward supplying goods and services that meet genuine human needs.
• Solidarity with the majority of human beings, who have no choice about their lifestyle.
• Provocative under-consumption to arouse people’s curiosity, leading to conversations about affluence, poverty, and injustice.
• Celebration of the riches we find in spirituality, creativity, and community with others.
• Advocacy for legislative changes in present patterns of production and consumption.
• Anticipation of when new patterns of allocating resources will create healthier, more just relationships.

(Adapted from Charles Lutz, cited in Scope, September, 1976)