CONTENTS 
3 
The Meaning and Morality of Voluntary Simplicity: 
History and Hypotheses on Deliberately Denied 
Materialism 
Floyd W. Rudmin and William E. Kilbourne 
(Introduction 
Elgin’s Touchstone 
Conceptual Issues 
Involuntary Simplicity 
Involuntary Complexity 
Voluntary Complexity 
Historical Perspective 
Ancient World 
Christian Era 
Colonial America 
Thoreau 
The Seduction of Simplicity 
Questions of Morality 
Playing at Poverty 
Simplicity of Disempowerment 
Abrogating Obligations 
The Violence of Simplicity 
COMMENTARY 
A Comment on “The Meaning and Morality of 
Voluntary Simplicity: History and Hypotheses on 
Deliberately Denied Materialism” 
Avraham Shama 
Introduction 
Structure 
Content 
Conceptual Issues 
Historical Perspective 
Questions of Morality 
Summary 
COMMENTARY 
Simplifying Voluntary Simplicity 
Paul L. Wachtel 
456 
166 
167 
169 
169 
172 
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206 
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223 
pL 
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