Less is more

the downshifter Waldorfs

Abstract

This study focuses on downshifters - individuals who make the choice to slow down their rhythms of life, strive to balance work and leisure, and look after frugal lifestyles in order to minimize the effects of urban capitalist industrial societies. The goal is to explore a particular type of behavior in a specific social stratum - a social group formed by families that have children in a Waldorf school in Florianopolis, Brazil. One could notice that the aspects that form the movement alter in some way not only individuals but also the families inserted in the educational space that presents itself as resistance to the traditional educational system. The Waldorf assume downshifting premises and can be perceived as decelerators, from the perspective of the counterculture. They form a cohesive group that tend to restrict their social network to those who share the same lifestyle; their cooperative actions foster feelings of belonging and solidarity that help legitimizing alternative lifestyles in a consumer society.