Is Simple Living Libertarian?
Posted on: October 9, 2014
There are several flavors of faith-based Simple Living.
The Libertarian Simple Liver is basically a hermit. S/he may be married and have a family and socialize, but basically believes that what s/he does and how s/he spends her money is her decision. Everyone for themselves. You get what you earn in life.
The Spiritual Simple Liver spends a lot of time in prayer. These folks resemble the monks of old.
Combine the hermit with the spiritual and you may get a person who has made a lot of money and wants God to justify their selfishness and their greedy work.
We may find it hard to feel empathy for people who go into debt, live beyond their means. But we are not survivalists, not doomsday preppers.
The brand of Simple Living that SLW! promotes is COMMUNITARIAN, that is, the community needs are more important than the individual “rights.” No, it is not Communism.
We really have only one planet though we live like we have several. Jubilee Economics believes in OneEarth Economics for the Common Good.
What does this mean? We are convinced that without significant and rapid changes in attitude and practices toward the Earth, a huge die-off within human civilization and among all living species will accelerate throughout the 21st century. We cannot expect to be rescued by God or by technology.
We discover and promote ways that all may live in joy, peace and enough (abundance) — both big picture and small, both theoretical and practical, both physical and spiritual, using both biblical and scientific models of economics — for individuals, corporations and governments. We promote communitarianism rather than capitalism; cooperation over competition; imitation of nature (biomimicry) rather than control of nature; voluntary simplicity instead of consumerism; wisdom of indigenous people, not constant growth; and many others. We use many forms of communication – from one-to-one to mass.
SLW! is guided by the five Life Standards of the classic Living More with Less. We present them in numerous ways.
A Christmas Speculation by John Michel Greer speaks to the Biblical implications of libertarianism.
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4 Responses to "Is Simple Living Libertarian?"
[…] Is Simple Living Libertarian? […]
[…] Is Simple Living Libertarian? SLW! promotes is COMMUNITARIANISM, that is, the community needs are more important than the individual “rights.” No, it is not Communism.We really have only one planet though we live as if we have several. Jubilee Economics believes in OneEarth Economics for the Common Good. […]
[…] Is Simple Living Libertarian? SLW! promotes is COMMUNITARIANISM, that is, the community needs are more important than the individual “rights.” No, it is not Communism.We really have only one planet though we live as if we have several. Jubilee Economics believes in OneEarth Economics for the Common Good. […]
Simple Living Works! 
October 13, 2014 at 9:33 pm
I am pretty liberal in my beliefs that what I have I share with others. I also have to take care of myself first, after all even the second commandment tells me to love my neighbor as myself. The problem comes when I am being overly concerned with protecting myself, my assets etc. This is when I have to turn to the gospel. How much to I keep for myself & how much do I share, this also means my inner self, not just my material belongings and of course money. I give more than 10% of my time to others, I can’t give 10% of my earnings, I can barely get by & I have trimmed away vacations & luxury items. I have more than I need to survive, I am not wanting for anything. I am a widow and am not living beyond my means, I have played that game and it was almost a disaster, somehow I managed to get out of that situation after we lost our family business, those were tough years. One cannot give 100% of their substance and then expect others to come to their rescue. I don’t want my family to worry about my financial or health situation, I take care of what has been given to me, I don’t believe God asks more of me than this.