ABSTRACT
Simplicity as a lifestyle choice requires social structures and mechanisms which support and catalyse it. This chapter provides a brief presentation of Richard Gregg's conviction that simplicity is a factor in creating healthy societies and an advance in civilisation. Social philosopher Richard Gregg began discussing the value of voluntary simplicity in the 1930s. He argued that simplicity is a factor in advance in civilisation; along with simplicity, changes in the mode of production and decentralisation of production were essential to secure a permanent advance in culture. Gregg's contention that simplicity is a necessary practice for a healthy society implies the presence of social structures which ensure that this choice is possible for individuals. In the Ladakhi society, children have the choice of a simple life presented to them and supported by their traditional social structures. The overall ambience constructed via the traditional mechanisms and structures in Ladakh appears conducive to cultivating simplicity as a way of life for the community.
