Vijayan K Pillai & Rashmi Gupta. Encyclopedia of World Poverty. Editor: M Odekon. Volume 3, Sage Reference, 2006.
There is no universal definition of voluntary poverty. Poverty is often seen as a social problem. As a social problem it is considered an undesirable condition. It is assumed that no one wants to live in poverty. Poverty is forced on people. It is involuntary. The poor are victims of structural, social, and cultural conditions beyond their power to change.
An example of a structural condition that creates poverty is unemployment. When factories lay off workers, and the educated and the skilled do not have jobs, people become poor because they are unable to meet their needs. Even when there are plenty of jobs available, a few may remain poor because they do not want to work. When this happens, poverty is seen as resulting from personality flaws. Cultural anthropologists have argued that poverty, like culture, can be transmitted from one generation to the next. Not only is poverty transferable from generation to generation, there is also the Matthew effect—the poor get poorer.
At the social level, strict definitions of poverty are needed when poverty is to be remedied through charity or public assistance programs. These definitions enable policymakers, welfare organizations, and others to help those considered poor to overcome poverty. Most welfare programs have elaborate methods of means testing to determine if an individual is poor or not.
When poverty is voluntarily practiced, individual-level definitions apply. In particular, when individuals who practice voluntary poverty live together in a community, they develop their own norms with respect to the consumption of various material goods and services. These norms are often shaped by the concept of simplicity. Voluntary simplicity involves the notion that in order to improve quality of life, one needs to shift from a consumption-oriented lifestyle toward a simple lifestyle. This lifestyle often involves working the land for subsistence in an ecologically friendly manner.
At times, groups and communities who have led a life of voluntary simplicity have had to face barriers and restraints that limited their ability to practice voluntary simplicity. Occasionally, such restraints have been met with collective action against imposers of such restrictions. For example, during the early 19th century, when the livelihood of several skilled cloth finishers was threatened by the introduction of shearing frames in the cloth mills of Yorkshire, they attacked and destroyed the mills. Similar attacks became commonplace and developed into the well-known Luddism movement.
Voluntary simplicity is an essential component of voluntary poverty. It is possible to have a few luxuries even when people practice voluntary simplicity as a guiding principle in their lives. However, many groups may consider possession of small excesses over what is needed as undesirable. They may choose to move from simplicity to poverty. Thus, in many instances voluntary poverty is seen as an extreme form of voluntary simplicity.
The notion of voluntary poverty is contained in ancient religions such as Buddhism and Jainism. Even today, several communities, such as the Amish, Mennonites, and Quakers in North America, practice voluntary poverty. The members of the Catholic Worker Movement founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin at the start of the Great Depression strongly observed voluntary poverty as a lifestyle. Today, over 185 Catholic Worker communities in the United States remain committed to the practice of voluntary poverty.
The idea of voluntary poverty is the guiding principle of the Catholic Worker movement in America. The Catholic Worker movement in the United States combines anarchism with Roman Catholic teachings. The movement attempts to reveal the negative effects of consumerism promoted by capitalist markets on physical and mental well being. Consumer markets perpetuate the illusion that unlimited material consumption is necessary for gaining happiness. The Catholic Worker movement views this illusion as dangerous and attempts to show instead that voluntary withdrawal from excess material consumption brings happiness and meaning to one’s life. This path of voluntary poverty, they argue, enables us to live with dignity and empowers us to follow our conscience. The ability to listen to our inner voice and to make decisions accordingly is referred to as the “primacy of conscience” within the Catholic Worker movement.
The emphasis on voluntary poverty within the Catholic Worker movement is associated with other key values, such as Christian personalism and the principle of subsidiarity. It is easier to know, value, establish relationships, and care for others when one is disengaged from amassing property and material goods. Furthermore, by remaining poor, helping each other, and forming communities, it is possible to limit the influence of state and bureaucratic hierarchies in our daily lives. This belief is called “principle of subsidiarity” within the Catholic Worker movement. Thus within the Catholic Worker movement, the idea of voluntary poverty plays a crucial role in living a Christian life.
Voluntary poverty is outwardly simple and inwardly rich. In most religions such as Buddhism and Jainism, voluntary poverty is seen as liberating, enriching, and empowering. Voluntary poverty is seldom experienced alone. Advocates of voluntary poverty often oppose rugged individualism. Voluntary poverty is practiced in the company of others. The objective of simple living is service. One practices voluntary poverty to better serve the poor. It therefore frees one to work freely and tirelessly.
Hinduism
Hinduism views voluntary poverty only as one among the many strategies for realizing God, attaining Moksha, or liberation from Samsara. The ultimate aim is to achieve Moksha. Hinduism recommends four paths toward the attainment of Moksha. They are love of God (Bhakti), meditation (Raja Yoga), accumulating knowledge (Jnana Yoga), and through selfless action (Karma). Having chosen a path, one has to instruct him or herself in pursuing the chosen path of Moksha. This provides opportunities for individuals to innovate, perfect, and create their own techniques. The goal is to become adept at Kaushal, or the art of pursuit of Moksha. The focus is on becoming Kaushal, and the practice of voluntary poverty is believed to aid the learning process.
Thus, voluntary poverty is recommended at various stages of life. The Hindu life is divided into several stages. At the very first stage past childhood, Brahmacharya ashrama, one lives the life of a disciplined student. During this stage, voluntary poverty is essential for disciplining oneself. The second stage is Grihastha Ashrama, when one is supposed to marry and lead a family life. Toward the end of family life, as one ages, one enters the stage of Vanaprastha Ashrama (forest dweller). Voluntary poverty is to be practiced to enable the elderly person to prepare for the final journey, where material possessions have no meaning. Thus, voluntary poverty is seen as a strategy, one among many others, to attain spiritual realization, the liberation from Samsara.
Hinduism is not averse to acquiring wealth. Amassing wealth and power (Artha) can be a goal, especially during the stage of family life. Artha is one of the three prescribed goals in life. The other two are Kama (seeking pleasure) and attaining Moksha. However, both Artha and Kama are restricted to the second stage of life. The most important goal is to attain Moksha; the foundation for it is laid in the first stage of Brahmacharya, when one practices voluntary poverty.
Other Religious Teachings
Some Muslim subgroups, such as the Sufis, advocate voluntary poverty. Many Muslims and non-Muslims believe that Sufis are not Muslims. Regardless of their religious identity, Sufism upholds a life of voluntary poverty. It discourages its followers from owning material possessions and asks them not to be possessed by material things. Even in modern religions such as Tenrikyo, founded by Nakayama Miki (1789–1887), the practice of voluntary poverty is seen as essential for achieving salvation and to relieve human suffering.
The notion of voluntary poverty is central to biblical teaching. However, it has been interpreted in different ways. The meaning and understanding of the term poverty vary more than the meaning and interpretation of the term voluntary. Among the Franciscans, for example, the term poverty meant denial of all possessions, total nonpossession. Poverty is to be visible; working and begging were two aspects of poverty.
Among the Dominicans (the Order of Preachers) the vow of poverty does not call for a life of austerity and sacrifice. Instead, they emphasize the importance of sharing and friendship with the poor. Voluntary poverty here implies a willingness and openness to the experience of the poor in order to enter into solidarity with them.
The notion of voluntary poverty is not merely economic and social but also political. Mahatma Gandhi launched a political movement heavily influenced by the notion of voluntary poverty. Mahatma Gandhi borrowed the concept of “bread labor” from Leo Tolstoy, one of Russia’s greatest authors. The concept of “bread labor” implies that individuals must earn their living by laboring with their own hands, tilling the soil. As laborers, all enjoy equal status and can come together as a community. He envisioned armies of nonviolent workers living together in rural surroundings in some form of cooperative commonwealth living a simple life in harmony with one another. He gave shape to his vision in organizing the Tolstoy Farm in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Gandhi attempted to politicize the notion of voluntary poverty. Gandhi’s approach to voluntary poverty called for renunciation of modern technology in favor of a manual-labor-oriented economy. The basis of his economics, now known as Gandhian economics, was to protect the village economy and community against capitalistic penetration by empowering villagers to limit their wants by practicing voluntary poverty.
For Gandhi, individuals who accumulate goods not necessary for immediate use have stolen from the goods necessary for immediate consumption by others. He urged people to be mindful of greed and give up their longing for material possessions. He saw worldly goods being a hindrance to the enjoyment of happiness. Gandhi practiced voluntary poverty. He believed that he had no right to be fully clothed so long as millions of Indians could not afford the bare minimum of clothing. In order to emphasize the inherent virtue of serving the poor, he drew parallels between God and the poor. He called the poor in India “Daridra Narayan,” the “God who is poor.” For him, practicing voluntary poverty was godly.
Modern Movements
Following Gandhi, several movements have advocated the downshifting of consumption. In particular, the Small Is Beautiful movement that was launched in the 1970s focused on voluntary limitation of consumption, decentralization of production, and use of intermediate technologies—technology that can easily be purchased and used by ordinary citizens.
The Green Party, another ecologically friendly movement in the United States, is founded on 10 key values, including social justice, ecological wisdom, and community-based economics. These movements appeal to people’s conscience to reduce consumption and practice voluntary poverty for preserving the environment and to ensure that the current generation leaves behind a livable environment for the ensuing generations.
In sum, the notion of voluntary poverty has deep roots in ancient religions such as Hinduism, Christianity, and Buddhism. Voluntary poverty is proposed as a desirable state of living. The practice of voluntary poverty is often endowed with moral righteousness whereas involuntary poverty is looked upon as a social and economic problem to be solved.
The meaning of the term varies widely with the variations in the definition of poverty. In some cases, the expected level of poverty is high and in other instances it is not. The idea of voluntary poverty has been politicized. Voluntary poverty is emerging as a necessary strategy to address modern issues of centralization of production, power, and disorganization of community life.