ABSTRACT
Downshifters have been defined in academic literature as individuals who make a voluntary, long-term change in their life that reduces their income. Because of the presumed coupling of reduced income with reduced consumption, sustainable consumption scholars have proffered downshifting as a solution to advance ecological sustainability. However, the tenability of downshifting's widespread appeal is called into question by evidence that downshifters report lower life satisfaction than the general population. Existing research on downshifting is divided between surveys of the general population and interviews with relatively well-off individuals who self-identify as downshifters. Our research draws on a survey and 44 in-depth interviews with a socioeconomically diverse sample to better understand the impact of downshifting on life satisfaction. Our findings are twofold: first, we challenge the assumption that downshifting is entirely and universally voluntary, and second, we argue that as a process, downshifting requires significant stores of resources if reductions in income are going to generate satisfaction. We argue that instead of marginalizing the effects of power and inequality on satisfaction, inequality is reproduced and made increasingly salient throughout the downshifting process. These findings lead us to question whether environmental solutions predicated on downshifting can function democratically in the absence of social policies.
