Why the Simple Life is Not Just Beautiful, It’s Necessary简约生活为何美且必要

The good life is the simple life. Among philosophical ideas about how we should live， this one is a hardy perennial; from Socrates to Thoreau， from the Buddha to Wendell Berry1， thinkers have been peddling it for more than two millennia.

美好生活乃是简约生活。这一理念在诸多关于如何生活的哲学观点中经久不衰。从苏格拉底到梭罗，从佛陀到温德尔·贝里，两千多年来，思想家们一直在宣扬它。

And it still has plenty of adherents2. Magazines such as Real Simple call out to us from the supermarket checkout; Oprah Winfrey regularly interviews fans of simple living such as Jack Kornfield， a teacher of Buddhist mindfulness; the Slow Movement， which advocates a return to pre-industrial basics， attracts followers across continents.

如今，这种理念仍有众多拥趸。在超市收银台，像《返璞归真》这样的杂志吸引着我们注意；电视荧屏上，脱口秀巨星奥普拉·温弗瑞定期采访一些简约生活的倡导者，比如佛教正念法师杰克·康菲尔德；放眼全球，倡导回归前工业时代简约生活方式的“慢生活运动”吸引着各大洲的追随者。

Through much of human history， frugal simplicity was not a choice but a necessity—and since necessary， it was also deemed a moral virtue. But with the advent of industrial capitalism and a consumer society， a system arose that was committed to relentless growth， and with it grew a population （aka ‘the market’） that was enabled and encouraged to buy lots of stuff that， by traditional standards， was surplus to requirements. As a result， there’s a disconnect between the traditional values we have inherited and the consumerist3 imperatives instilled in us by contemporary culture.

纵观人类历史，大多数时候节俭朴素并非一种选择，而是一种必需。因为必需，它也被视为一种美德。然而，随着工业资本主义和消费社会的兴起，一种追求无节制增长的体系应运而生，随之而来的是被称作“市场”的庞大群体，这些人有能力并被鼓励去购买大量的非必要物品，按照传统标准衡量，这些物品往往是多余的。于是，我们从先辈那里继承的传统价值观念与当代文化灌输给我们的消费主义冲动之间便产生了脱节。

In pre-modern times， the discrepancy between what the philosophers advised and how people lived was not so great. Wealth provided security， but even for the rich wealth was flimsy protection against misfortunes such as war， famine， disease， injustice and the disfavour4 of tyrants. The Stoic philosopher Seneca， one of the richest men in Rome， still ended up being sentenced to death by Nero. As for the vast majority—slaves， serfs， peasants and labourers—there was virtually no prospect of accumulating even modest wealth.

现代以前，哲学家的建议与人们的生活方式之间，差异并非如此显著。财富能带来安全保障，然而即使对于富人，财富在诸如战争、饥荒、疾病、不公以及暴政等不幸面前也只是脆弱的保护伞。斯多葛派哲学家塞内加身为罗马最富有的人之一，最终仍被暴君尼禄判处死刑。而绝大多数人，诸如奴隶、农奴、小农和劳工，几乎没有机会积累哪怕微不足道的财富。

Before the advent of machine-based agriculture， representative democracy， civil rights， antibiotics5 and aspirin， just making it through a long life without too much suffering counted as doing pretty well. Today， though， at least in prosperous societies， people want and expect （and can usually have） a good deal more. Living simply now strikes many people as simply boring.

在机械化农业、代议制民主、公民权利、抗生素和阿司匹林出现之前，人们能安度漫长的一生而不受太多痛苦，就已经算很不错了。而如今，至少在繁荣的社会里，人们想要更多并期望（通常也能拥有）更多。对很多人来说，简约生活是枯燥乏味的代名词。

Yet there seems to be growing interest， especially among millennials， in rediscovering the benefits of simple living. Some of this might reflect a kind of nostalgia for the pre-industrial or pre-consumerist6 world， and also sympathy for the moral argument that says that living in a simple manner makes you a better person， by building desirable traits such as frugality， resilience and independence—or a happier person， by promoting peace of mind and good health， and keeping you close to nature.

然而似乎越来越多的人，尤其是千禧一代，开始热衷重新发现简约生活的诸多益处。部分原因或许是对前工业或前消费主义时代的怀念，同时也是出于对一种道德观点的认同，即简约的生活方式能够塑造诸如节俭、坚韧和独立等优良品质，使人成为更好的个体；或者通过促进内心安宁和身体健康并贴近自然，使我们成为更快乐的个体。

These are plausible arguments. Yet in spite of the official respect their teachings command， the sages have proved remarkably unpersuasive. Millions of us continue to rush around getting and spending， buying lottery tickets， working long hours， racking up debt， and striving 24/7 to climb the greasy pole. Why is this？

这些观点听起来不无道理。然而，尽管人们公开宣扬并尊崇先哲的教诲，但事实可证，它们的说服力绝非高明。无数的人们继续奔波忙碌，不停地追逐索取和消费、购买彩票、加班加点、债台高筑、在名利天梯上没日没夜拼命往上爬。为何如此？

One obvious answer is good old-fashioned hypocrisy7. We applaud the frugal8 philosophy while ignoring its precepts in our day-to-day lives. We praise the simple lifestyle of， say， Pope Francis， seeing it as a sign of his moral integrity， while also hoping for and cheering on economic growth driven， in large part， by a demand for bigger houses， fancier cars and other luxury goods.

一个显然的答案是老生常谈的人性的虚伪。我们对节俭的哲学拍手称赞，可一到实际生活，就把那些清规戒律抛到了九霄云外。我们夸赞像教皇方济各那样简朴的生活方式，认为这彰显了他的道德操守，同时我们却又期盼和欢呼经济增长，而很大程度上说，这种增长是由对更大的房子、更豪华的汽车以及其他奢侈品的需求而驱动的。

But the problem isn’t just that our practice conflicts with our professed beliefs. Our thinking about simplicity and luxury， frugality9 and extravagance， is fundamentally inconsistent. We condemn extravagance that is wasteful or tasteless and yet we tout monuments of past extravagance， such as the palace at Versailles， as highly admirable. The truth is that much of what we call ‘culture’ is fuelled by forms of extravagance.

但问题不仅在于我们的行为与我们宣称的信念之间的冲突。我们对于简洁与奢侈、节俭与铺张的认知，从根本上就是自相矛盾。我们谴责铺张浪费、缺乏品位的奢华，却对历史上奢华的遗迹赞不绝口，比如凡尔赛宫。事实是，我们所谓的“文化”很大程度上要靠各种形式的奢华铸就。

Somewhat paradoxically10， then， the case for living simply was most persuasive when most people had little choice but to live that way. The traditional arguments for simple living in effect rationalise a necessity. But the same arguments have less purchase when the life of frugal simplicity is a choice， one way of living among many. Then the philosophy of frugality becomes a hard sell.