The Progressive Minimalist Manifesto

I’m taking out a page from Cal Newport’s blog and decided to write a simple manifesto that captures my evolving philosophy on minimalism (click here to read his post on what he dubbed as the “Career Craftsmen Manifesto”).

There’s been ample discussion on the importance of decluttering our mental and physical space, but two topics that are noticeably absent are the ecological and socio-economic benefits of adopting a minimalist lifestyle. It is as if popular minimalist bloggers are afraid to tackle the more complex, macro-level solutions that minimalist living can solve.

I consider myself a progressive minimalist: someone who adheres to a minimalist lifestyle as a strategy to improve the quality of life of both myself and the larger community. From the various responses I receive from this blog, my former podcast, and the other sites that my writing lives on, I believe there are others that share my mindset.

Progressive minimalists focus on maximizing human well-being within our ecological means through sharing work, consuming less, and spending more time in nature, with our community, and pursuing experiences we find meaningful. Less is not simply more; less is ecologically and financially sustainable.

This philosophy is a work in progress but here are the main tenets so far: