Mike W. Martin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199845217
- eISBN:
- 9780199933068
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199845217.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, General
Simplicity is a recurring theme in discussions of happiness, from Socrates and the Stoics to Thoreau to contemporary self-help books, but it contains complexities of its own. If simplicity is merely ...
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Simplicity is a recurring theme in discussions of happiness, from Socrates and the Stoics to Thoreau to contemporary self-help books, but it contains complexities of its own. If simplicity is merely reducing complexity by cutting back on the number of our concerns, then it might be prudent or foolish. If instead it is the virtue of identifying and living by what is most important, removing undesirable distractions in order to stay focused on essentials, then it is akin to wisdom. Happiness is one important value, and hence enters into defining simplicity. The question then arises how happiness relates to familiar “simplicity themes” such as greater mindfulness, frugality, and conservation. Simplicity is best subsumed under the wider rubric of coping with complexity in good lives.Less
Simplicity is a recurring theme in discussions of happiness, from Socrates and the Stoics to Thoreau to contemporary self-help books, but it contains complexities of its own. If simplicity is merely reducing complexity by cutting back on the number of our concerns, then it might be prudent or foolish. If instead it is the virtue of identifying and living by what is most important, removing undesirable distractions in order to stay focused on essentials, then it is akin to wisdom. Happiness is one important value, and hence enters into defining simplicity. The question then arises how happiness relates to familiar “simplicity themes” such as greater mindfulness, frugality, and conservation. Simplicity is best subsumed under the wider rubric of coping with complexity in good lives.
Mark Bevir
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691150833
- eISBN:
- 9781400840281
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691150833.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
This book provides a new interpretation of the emergence of British socialism in the late nineteenth century, demonstrating that it was not a working-class movement demanding state action, but a ...
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This book provides a new interpretation of the emergence of British socialism in the late nineteenth century, demonstrating that it was not a working-class movement demanding state action, but a creative campaign of political hope promoting social justice, personal transformation, and radical democracy. The book shows that British socialists responded to the dilemmas of economics and faith against a background of diverse traditions, melding new economic theories opposed to capitalism with new theologies which argued that people were bound in divine fellowship. The book utilizes an impressive range of sources to illuminate a number of historical questions: Why did the British Marxists follow a Tory aristocrat who dressed in a frock coat and top hat? Did the Fabians develop a new economic theory? What was the role of Christian theology and idealist philosophy in shaping socialist ideas? The book explores debates about capitalism, revolution, the simple life, sexual relations, and utopian communities. It gives detailed accounts of the Marxists, Fabians, and ethical socialists, including famous authors such as William Morris and George Bernard Shaw. And it locates these socialists among a wide cast of colorful characters, including Karl Marx, Henry Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, and Oscar Wilde. By showing how socialism combined established traditions and new ideas in order to respond to the changing world of the late nineteenth century, the book turns aside long-held assumptions about the origins of a major movement.Less
This book provides a new interpretation of the emergence of British socialism in the late nineteenth century, demonstrating that it was not a working-class movement demanding state action, but a creative campaign of political hope promoting social justice, personal transformation, and radical democracy. The book shows that British socialists responded to the dilemmas of economics and faith against a background of diverse traditions, melding new economic theories opposed to capitalism with new theologies which argued that people were bound in divine fellowship. The book utilizes an impressive range of sources to illuminate a number of historical questions: Why did the British Marxists follow a Tory aristocrat who dressed in a frock coat and top hat? Did the Fabians develop a new economic theory? What was the role of Christian theology and idealist philosophy in shaping socialist ideas? The book explores debates about capitalism, revolution, the simple life, sexual relations, and utopian communities. It gives detailed accounts of the Marxists, Fabians, and ethical socialists, including famous authors such as William Morris and George Bernard Shaw. And it locates these socialists among a wide cast of colorful characters, including Karl Marx, Henry Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, and Oscar Wilde. By showing how socialism combined established traditions and new ideas in order to respond to the changing world of the late nineteenth century, the book turns aside long-held assumptions about the origins of a major movement.
Rebecca Beasley
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- July 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198802129
- eISBN:
- 9780191840531
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198802129.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism, World Literature
This chapter analyses the work of Russian émigrés, especially the members of the Chaikovsky circle, for whom the promotion of Russian literature was part of a campaign to interest the British people ...
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This chapter analyses the work of Russian émigrés, especially the members of the Chaikovsky circle, for whom the promotion of Russian literature was part of a campaign to interest the British people and their political leaders in their revolutionary politics. In their articles, translations, and collaborations with British writers, journalists, translators and publishers, this group were able to establish an early canon of Russian literature, and shape its interpretation. As well as forming close strategic relationships with members of the British liberal establishment and socialist groups, Russian émigrés were active in the networks of ‘ethical socialist’, simple life, and Tolstoyan movements. It is in these more literary, more anarchist, versions of socialism that we see the roots of a modernist literature that looked to Russian, rather than French, literature and culture as its model.Less
This chapter analyses the work of Russian émigrés, especially the members of the Chaikovsky circle, for whom the promotion of Russian literature was part of a campaign to interest the British people and their political leaders in their revolutionary politics. In their articles, translations, and collaborations with British writers, journalists, translators and publishers, this group were able to establish an early canon of Russian literature, and shape its interpretation. As well as forming close strategic relationships with members of the British liberal establishment and socialist groups, Russian émigrés were active in the networks of ‘ethical socialist’, simple life, and Tolstoyan movements. It is in these more literary, more anarchist, versions of socialism that we see the roots of a modernist literature that looked to Russian, rather than French, literature and culture as its model.
Vicky Albritton and Fredrik Albritton Jonsson
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226339986
- eISBN:
- 9780226340043
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226340043.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
William Gershom Collingwood, Ruskin’s secretary and friend, moved to the Lake District with his wife Edith in 1883. They gave up the comforts and financial stability of the city in favor of a rural ...
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William Gershom Collingwood, Ruskin’s secretary and friend, moved to the Lake District with his wife Edith in 1883. They gave up the comforts and financial stability of the city in favor of a rural and provincial life, which was at times precarious and meager in materials terms. But the move put them at the center of the growing Arts and Crafts movement in the region. Their household became the setting for a domestic version of the culture of sufficiency, dedicated to artistic and skilled work of many kinds. Collingwood celebrated the arts of everyday life in his historical novel, Thorstein of the Mere, about the early Viking settlers in the Lake District. Collingwood wrote books, taught, and gave lectures; he and his wife both painted and sold their work. They tried to spend as much as possible of their income on quality goods such as custom furniture built by their artisan friend, Arthur Simpson. Critics felt Ruskin’s theories were economically unsound and might lead to a harsh and austere way of life. But as a painter, archaeologist, scholar, teacher, fell-walker, novelist and family man, Collingwood fully embraced the virtues of the simple life.Less
William Gershom Collingwood, Ruskin’s secretary and friend, moved to the Lake District with his wife Edith in 1883. They gave up the comforts and financial stability of the city in favor of a rural and provincial life, which was at times precarious and meager in materials terms. But the move put them at the center of the growing Arts and Crafts movement in the region. Their household became the setting for a domestic version of the culture of sufficiency, dedicated to artistic and skilled work of many kinds. Collingwood celebrated the arts of everyday life in his historical novel, Thorstein of the Mere, about the early Viking settlers in the Lake District. Collingwood wrote books, taught, and gave lectures; he and his wife both painted and sold their work. They tried to spend as much as possible of their income on quality goods such as custom furniture built by their artisan friend, Arthur Simpson. Critics felt Ruskin’s theories were economically unsound and might lead to a harsh and austere way of life. But as a painter, archaeologist, scholar, teacher, fell-walker, novelist and family man, Collingwood fully embraced the virtues of the simple life.
Angene Wilson and Jack Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813129754
- eISBN:
- 9780813135687
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813129754.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
One of the goals of the Peace Corps was to have their volunteers experience life as a member of the country to which they were assigned to. The Peace Corps instructions of 1961 stated that the ...
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One of the goals of the Peace Corps was to have their volunteers experience life as a member of the country to which they were assigned to. The Peace Corps instructions of 1961 stated that the housing and sanitary facilities were to be clean yet simple and that food preparation facilities were also to be provided. If other furnishings prove to be necessary volunteers would be given funds to purchase from the local market. However, the equipment was to be frugal and of local styles. This idea was new as previously missionaries and American diplomats were often assigned to live in American compounds separate from the locals. In contrast to how aid was received through special diplomatic pouches and commissaries provided the military with food and other items, volunteers were given a monthly allowance and were to sustain themselves within the local economy. The living allowances of volunteers varied from country to country, and living conditions varied considerably.Less
One of the goals of the Peace Corps was to have their volunteers experience life as a member of the country to which they were assigned to. The Peace Corps instructions of 1961 stated that the housing and sanitary facilities were to be clean yet simple and that food preparation facilities were also to be provided. If other furnishings prove to be necessary volunteers would be given funds to purchase from the local market. However, the equipment was to be frugal and of local styles. This idea was new as previously missionaries and American diplomats were often assigned to live in American compounds separate from the locals. In contrast to how aid was received through special diplomatic pouches and commissaries provided the military with food and other items, volunteers were given a monthly allowance and were to sustain themselves within the local economy. The living allowances of volunteers varied from country to country, and living conditions varied considerably.
