Would Doris Use Facebook?

If she were alive today, would Doris Janzen Longacre, author of the More-with-Less Cookbook and Living More with Less, have a Facebook account?

That’s the question asked on a new Facebook group created in advance of the November 1 release of Living More with Less: 30th Anniversary Edition.

"Access to Facebook is a privilege of the developed world," Boers says. "It’s no coincidence that over 60 percent of Facebook users live in North America and Europe."

On the other hand, he notes, "Facebook is one way that people can keep in touch with faraway friends and relatives without traveling or racking up phone bills."

It also "gives users a platform to band together to work for social causes," he adds.

"What do you think?" asks Boers, one of six young adults who helped editor Valerie Weaver-Zercher create the 30th anniversary edition of the book. "Does anyone have More-with-Less ways of being on the site? If she were alive today, would Doris have an account?"

In addition to seeking answers to those questions, Boers hopes the group will encourage discussion about "what it means to live more with less today."

"At a time when ‘green’ is trendy, how do we keep it tethered to an authentic concern for the poor and for the planet?" he asks. "Has Doris’ vision been realized, or co-opted? How do we avoid oversimplifying the complicated economic and ecological realities facing all of us? And how can we pursue more-with-less ideals without settling into self-castigation, smugness, or doomsday sermonizing?"

What do you think? Is there a more with less way of using Facebook? What are you doing to live more simply and sustainably? And do you think Doris would have a Facebook account?

Visit the Living More with Less Facebook group page and share your thoughts!

The Living More with Less Facebook page was created with support from Mennonite Publishing Network.