3 min read Literature Reviews

The Minimalism Community is Thriving, but Can it Overcome one Major Hurdle?

The Minimalism Community is Thriving, but Can it Overcome one Major Hurdle?

Author and Artist Austin Kleon reminds us of the “Lone Genius Myth" - the idea that innovation in art and culture comes from brilliant people working in solitude. Instead, Austin shares the following in their book, Show Your Work:

"There’s a healthier way of thinking about creativity that the musician Brian Eno refers to as “scenius.” Under this model, great ideas are often birthed by a group of creative individuals—artists, curators, thinkers, theorists, and other tastemakers—who make up an “ecology of talent.” If you look back closely at history, many of the people who we think of as lone geniuses were actually part of “a whole scene of people who were supporting each other, looking at each other’s work, copying from each other, stealing ideas, and contributing ideas.” Scenius doesn’t take away from the achievements of those great individuals: it just acknowledges that good work isn’t created in a vacuum, and that creativity is always, in some sense, a collaboration, the result of a mind connected to other minds."

This idea of a "scenius" gives way to why the minimalism community is thriving, but also shows one nagging barrier.

Minimalism Culture and Community is Extensive and Powerful

The minimalism "scenius" guides us everyday - thought leaders we trust to lead are actively forming the future of minimalism. On our journeys of intentional living, we, as a community, are learning from one another, shaping best practices, and teaching our peers. The community is intentional, kind, diverse, and growing - this is what makes our "scenius" so powerful. Diverse thought and the willingness to spread knowledge allows for healthy and sustainable growth.

There are a few primary people and groups that are leading this growth - here we highlight a few:

These individuals and groups proudly represent the minimalism community as a whole. They give a voice of trusted expertise to friends, family, peers, and co-worker. In this, we as followers, are inspired to continue the growth of minimalism into new spaces and communities.

With any reason to celebrate, also comes room for improvement. The minimalism community is extensive and it is powerful, but it also has one obstructive perception to overcome:

Minimalism is perceived as a "Hedonistic Philosophy of Life", but is it actually?

Public perception of minimalism is challenging, and often it feels (simply from experience) fairly polarizing - you meet those who are enthralled by the idea of minimalism or you meet those who have rather negative views. This barrier for the minimalism community has yet to be fully determined. For right now, it stagnates the growth minimalism can experience, but maybe the story is yet to be truly uncovered to public perception.

In a study titled The Voluntary Simplicity Movement: A multi-national survey analysis in theoretical context, performed by Dr. Samuel Alexander, co-director of the Simplicity Institute, 2268 participants responded to a 50-question survey surrounding the Voluntary Simplicity Movement. A primary outcome of the data collected explains the "Diversity of Motivations", or reasons why, individuals live minimally. With this data, Dr. Alexander examines the common criticism of minimalism: "it is a self-centered, narrowly hedonistic philosophy of life."

Wow - thats a bit harsh, right? And yet, it does seem as though public perception of minimalism has roots within this criticism. What is really interesting, however, is that the data from the survey disproves this criticism's validity! Instead, Dr. Alexander says that, "While it may well be that a life of voluntary simplicity is merely a means to greater leisure for some, the results of our survey demonstrate that the Simplicity Movement is comprised of people who are motivated by a diversity of issues – not simply leisure expansion or personal happiness."

Those who follow minimalism centered ideals are in it for a variety of reasons, expanding beyond self-centered motives. Specifically, the following figure from the study illustrates what motivates people to live simply (x-axis) by the percentage of people in the study who were motivated by them (y-axis). Environmental concern, healthier lifestyle, self-sufficiently, and decluttering were the most popular responses.

This data sheds light into the true motivations of the minimalist community - from within the "scenius," we do not solely practice minimalism for selfish leisure or personal happiness, rather we are minimalists in order help the environment, manage stress, save money, and more. Our motivations are diverse and comprehensive.

So, we'll conclude with one last thought - if it is true that minimalism is rooted beyond personal gain, why is the perception of minimalism a barrier, giving fatigue to the growth of minimalism? Perhaps it is solely lack of voice, or maybe youthfulness in its timeline? We surely hope to learn soon.

Thanks for reading - let us know what you think.

The Quaint Team