What is Simple Man?

This is the inaugural post, yet we'll focus on the last word.  It's the last, but it's the most important.

Notice that the word is "simple."  Simple Man.  Not "simpleton."  Or "simplistic."

Simple Man aims for clarity and elegance, not lack of nuance.

Simple Man springs from the idea that we too often make things harder than they need to be.  I am not necessarily looking to go back to horse and buggy; I'm certainly no Luddite.  Rather, our lives are so hectic and complex today, we need to find a way to strip clean all the frivolous complexity, all the interest for the sake of interest.  Simple Man wants to live a focused life.

Simple Man is a life philosophy, but it's also concrete, day-to-day.  For this first post, let's look at an easy example:  Clothing.  

Anyone who knows me can attest that I'm no sartorial exemplar, but even I have far more clothing than I need.  At his most extreme, Simple Man wants to get rid of neckties; they are simply remnants of prior function, today only splashes of color for society's approval.  I would even get rid of collars--butterfly, button-down, pinpoint, oxford.  What purpose do they serve?  If we need a collar, why not a band collar?  

In the more normal range, Simple Man just wants to be able to buy the same pair of shoes every two years.  You get a nice pair, you like them, they fit.  Two years later, they wear out.  You go back to the same store, look at the same brand.  Do you see the same shoes?  No, because the companies change them to create artificial interest.

In many ways, Simple Man is anti-consumerism.  That is just a side-effect.  That's not the root purpose.  Another anti-consumerist idea comes from the question of varying levels of quality.  I understand that we all cannot, in our current system, afford top quality, but why is that?  Why are lesser quality items even available?  I can see it in natural products.  Some areas might have a better season for apples than others.  But what about shirts?  Or toothbrushes?  Shouldn't any producer want to produce the best possible product?  If everyone was producing the best possible product, there would be no lesser quality "choices."

Simple Man is a new idea.  Something that's been percolating for a while, but I hadn't brought it out to the light of day.  Now it's out, but by no means complete.  I'll flesh it out, maybe with help, as we go along.

Simple Man is an ideal.  But don't worry, I'll post an Angry Man update soon and you'll see that idealism and cynicism can exist side by side in one human being.