From Consumer Alienation to Voluntary Simplicity: Rethinking Well-Being in a Material World

Xiaoyan Zheng and Mohd Syahmir Alias

Asian Social Science, 2025, vol. 21, issue 4, 55

Abstract: As consumerist values continue to spread globally, consumption has become increasingly alienated driven, not by authentic human needs, but by the compulsive act of consumption itself. Happiness is often equated with material accumulation, leading individuals to pursue external approval and artificial desires while becoming disconnected from their inner selves. Contemporary marketing tools such as advertising, live streaming, and social media intensify this condition by fabricating demand and normalizing excessive consumption, even in the absence of real necessity. This externally imposed notion of happiness undermines individual autonomy and erodes the capacity for intrinsic fulfillment. In response to this condition, voluntary simplicity offers a meaningful alternative. By promoting intentional consumption, simplified living, and inner reflection, it enables individuals to reconnect with intrinsic values and foster sustainable well-being. This study aims to explore a conceptual pathway for reclaiming authentic happiness in a material-driven world. Through a conceptual, textual analysis, it constructs a conceptual framework that maps the interrelationships between consumer alienation, voluntary simplicity, and subjective well-being. The findings challenge the dominant paradigm that equates happiness with material affluence and instead support the view that sustainable happiness is rooted in intrinsic values, meaningful experiences, and the autonomy of consumption choices.

Date: 2025
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