Speaking of Tainter Simplification...

Those of you that know me, know i am a fan of the thought process of Joesph Tainter,, aka his book The Collapse of Complex Societies (1988). I often use the term "Tainter Simplification" as the name for the core concept of the before mentioned text.
I can best define Tainter Simplification, by quoting Samuel Alexander in his online article about his paper, Resilience through Simplification: Revisiting Tainter’s Theory of Collapse, Simplicity Institute Report (2012);
"In 1988 Joseph Tainter ...presented an original theory of social complexity that he offered as the best explanation for the collapse of civilisations throughout history. Tainter’s theory essentially holds that human societies become more socially complex as they solve the problems they face, and while this complexity initially provides a net benefit to society, eventually the benefits derived from increasing complexity diminish and the relative costs begin to increase. There comes a point, Tainter argues, when all the energy and resources available to a society are required just to maintain the society, at which point further problems that arise cannot be solved and the society then enters a phase of deterioration or even rapid collapse." http://simplicitycollective.com/resilience-through-simplification-revisiting-tainters-theory-of-collapse

Full paper: http://simplicityinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ResilienceThroughSimplificationSimplicityInstitute.pdf

In the article, Alexander writes, "...in this new paper I examine and ultimately challenge Tainter’s conclusion that voluntary simplification is not a viable path to sustainability. In fact, I argue that it is by far our best bet, even if the odds do not provide grounds for much optimism. Moreover, should sustainability prove too ambitious a goal for industrial civilisation, I contend that simplification remains the most effective means of building ‘resilience’ (i.e. the ability of an individual or community to withstand societal or ecological shocks). "

I do not see his paper as a challenge to Tainter's idea. Rather, I would say that voluntary simplification is one path of Tainter Simplification, albeit an intentional one.

This raises the question of how we define sustainability. Some assume that the continuation of the level of social and technological sophistication some of us in the world enjoy is the goal. That is assumed for a number of reasons, from over-optimism about human nature to fear of the conflict induced attempting to adapt to multiple simultaneous market failures on a planetary scale. (this being one of the subjects of an essay i am currently writing).
I tend to agree with Alexander though, that simplification is a time tested adaptive strategy for lifeforms, as well outlined in parts of Nature: An Economic History, by Geerat J. Vermeij (2004), and  Information, Entropy, and Progress, by Robert U. Ayres (1997).