While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economic decline—after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late'80s—and is still linked to the politics of thrift，in Britain，at least among the middle-class downshifters of my acquaintance，we have different reasons for seeking to simplify our lives.

在美國，這種趨勢開始時是作為應(yīng)對80年代后期，由于縮減貿(mào)易量(或裁員)而造成大量庫存(人員冗余)所引發(fā)的經(jīng)濟(jì)蕭條的一種措施。這種趨勢同時與政治上政府的節(jié)儉姿態(tài)也緊密相關(guān)。盡管如此，在波士頓，至少對于那些我認(rèn)識的中產(chǎn)階層們而言，我們有各自不同的理由去努力簡化我們的生活。