Frugality

Abstract

We can define frugality as art de vivre, which implies low material consumption and a simple lifestyle to open the mind for spiritual goods such as inner freedom, social peace, justice, or the quest for “ultimate reality.” Frugality as a conception of the good life has deep philosophical and religious roots in the East and the West. Monks and religious people all over the world practice it in different forms of asceticism, self-restriction, or freely chosen poverty (“voluntary simplicity”). But even secular philosophers in the tradition of Epicurean ethics or Stoicism emphasize that frugal tastes and lasting enjoyment go hand in hand. Whereas for religious ethics frugality is a spiritual virtue, for secular ethics it is a rational virtue to enhance happiness. Although both of these approaches, the rational as well as the spiritual, do promote similar practices of self-restriction, their deeper motivational structure is very different. We will explore rational theories of frugality, the economics of frugality, and a spiritual concept and practice of frugality.¹