Prosperity

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Prosperity is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. [1] Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health.

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Competing notions of prosperity

Economic notions of prosperity often compete or interact negatively with health, happiness, or spiritual notions of prosperity. For example, longer hours of work might result in an increase in certain measures of economic prosperity, but at the expense of driving people away from their preferences for shorter work hours. [2] In Buddhism, prosperity is viewed with an emphasis on collectivism and spirituality. This perspective can be at odds with capitalistic notions of prosperity, due to the latter's association with greed. [3] Data from social surveys show that an increase in income does not result in a lasting increase in happiness; one proposed explanation to this is due to hedonic adaptation and social comparison, and a failure to anticipate these factors, resulting in people not allocating enough energy to non-financial goals such as family life and health. [4]

The World Bank's "Voices of the Poor", based on research with over 20,000 poor people in 23 countries, identifies a range of factors which poor people identify as part of poverty. These include abuse by those in power, disempowering institutions, excluded locations, gender relationships, lack of security, limited capabilities, physical limitations, precarious livelihoods, problems in social relationships, weak community organizations and discrimination.

Debate under economic growth

Economic growth is often seen as essential for economic prosperity, and indeed is one of the factors that is used as a measure of prosperity. The Rocky Mountain Institute, among others, has put forth an alternative point of view, that prosperity does not require growth, claiming instead that many of the problems facing communities are actually a result of growth, and that sustainable development requires abandoning the idea that growth is required for prosperity. [5] [6] The debate over whether economic growth is necessary for, or at odds with, human prosperity, has been active at least since the publication of Our Common Future in 1987, and has been pointed to as reflecting two opposing worldviews. [7]

In 1996, the British ecological economist Tim Jackson outlined the conflicting relationship between human wellbeing and economic growth in his book Material Concerns . [8] Prosperity without Growth then, first published as a report [9] to the UK Sustainable Development Commission in 2008, comprehensively expanded on the arguments and policy recommendations. [10]

Internationally organised, the Degrowth movement is taking a similar position and argue that overconsumption lies at the root of long-term environmental issues and social inequalities, advocating for the down-scaling of production and consumption. [11] In the 2021 Review on the Economics of Biodiversity commissioned by the UK Treasury, Partha Dasgupta argues prosperity has come at a "devastating" cost to biodiversity, and that sustainable economic growth will require abandoning GDP as a measure for economic progress. [12]

Synergistic notions of prosperity

Many distinct notions of prosperity, such as economic prosperity, health, and happiness, are correlated or even have causal effects on each other. Economic prosperity and health are well-established to have a positive correlation, but the extent to which health has a causal effect on economic prosperity is unclear.

There is evidence that happiness is a cause of good health, both directly through influencing behavior and the immune system, and indirectly through social relationships, work, and other factors. [13] One study which advances a holistic definition of prosperity is the Legatum Prosperity Index (an annual report by the Legatum Institute, a UK-based independent educational charity founded by Legatum), which uses data from 56 separate sources, including the World Health Organization, Global slavery Index and World Bank, to rank 169 nations in an index which goes beyond GDP as a measurement of national prosperity. [14] [15] [16]

Ecological perspectives

In ecology, prosperity can refer to the extent to which a species flourishes under certain circumstances. [17] [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gross domestic product</span> Market value of goods and services produced within a country

Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is most often used by the government of a single country to measure its economic health. Due to its complex and subjective nature, this measure is often revised before being considered a reliable indicator.

Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genuine progress indicator</span> Enhances Economic / Well-Being indicators

Genuine progress indicator (GPI) is a metric that has been suggested to replace, or supplement, gross domestic product (GDP). The GPI is designed to take fuller account of the well-being of a nation, only a part of which pertains to the size of the nation's economy, by incorporating environmental and social factors which are not measured by GDP. For instance, some models of GPI decrease in value when the poverty rate increases. The GPI separates the concept of societal progress from economic growth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare</span> Economic indicator

The Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) is an economic indicator intended to replace the gross domestic product (GDP), which is the main macroeconomic indicator of System of National Accounts (SNA). Rather than simply adding together all expenditures like the GDP, consumer spending is balanced by such factors as income distribution and cost associated with pollution and other unsustainable costs. The calculation excludes defence expenditures and considers a wider range of harmful effects of economic growth. It is similar to the genuine progress indicator (GPI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gross National Happiness</span> Guiding philosophy of the government of Bhutan

Gross National Happiness, sometimes called Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH), is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index which is used to measure the collective happiness and well-being of a population. Gross National Happiness Index is instituted as the goal of the government of Bhutan in the Constitution of Bhutan, enacted on 18 July 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steady-state economy</span> Constant capital and population size

A steady-state economy is an economy made up of a constant stock of physical wealth (capital) and a constant population size. In effect, such an economy does not grow in the course of time. The term usually refers to the national economy of a particular country, but it is also applicable to the economic system of a city, a region, or the entire world. Early in the history of economic thought, classical economist Adam Smith of the 18th century developed the concept of a stationary state of an economy: Smith believed that any national economy in the world would sooner or later settle in a final state of stationarity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Happy Planet Index</span> Index of human well-being and environmental impact

The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an index of human well-being and environmental impact that was introduced by the New Economics Foundation in 2006. Each country's HPI value is a function of its average subjective life satisfaction, life expectancy at birth, and ecological footprint per capita. The exact function is a little more complex, but conceptually it approximates multiplying life satisfaction and life expectancy and dividing that by the ecological footprint. The index is weighted to give progressively higher scores to nations with lower ecological footprints.

The economics of happiness or happiness economics is the theoretical, qualitative and quantitative study of happiness and quality of life, including positive and negative affects, well-being, life satisfaction and related concepts – typically tying economics more closely than usual with other social sciences, like sociology and psychology, as well as physical health. It typically treats subjective happiness-related measures, as well as more objective quality of life indices, rather than wealth, income or profit, as something to be maximized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Where-to-be-born Index</span> Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s where-to-be-born index attempts to measure which country will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead.

Degrowth or post-growth economics is an academic and social movement critical of the concept of growth in gross domestic product as a measure of human and economic development. Degrowth theory is based on ideas and research from a multitude of disciplines such as economics, economic anthropology, ecological economics, environmental sciences and development studies. It argues that the unitary focus of modern capitalism on growth, in terms of monetary value of aggregate goods and services, causes widespread ecological damage and is not necessary for the further increase of human living standards. Degrowth theory has been met with both academic acclaim and considerable criticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legatum Prosperity Index</span> Annual ranking of countries by Legatum

The Legatum Prosperity Index is an annual ranking developed by the Legatum Institute, an independent educational charity founded and part-funded by the private investment firm Legatum. The ranking is based on a variety of factors including wealth, economic growth, education, health, personal well-being, and quality of life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Well-being</span> General term for condition of individual or group

Well-being, or wellbeing, also known as wellness, prudential value, prosperity or quality of life, refers to what is intrinsically valuable relative to someone. So the well-being of a person is what is ultimately good for this person, what is in the self-interest of this person. Well-being can refer to both positive and negative well-being. In its positive sense, it is sometimes contrasted with ill-being as its opposite. The term "subjective well-being" denotes how people experience and evaluate their lives, usually measured in relation to self-reported well-being obtained through questionnaires.

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<i>Prosperity Without Growth</i> 2009 book by Tim Jackson

Prosperity Without Growth is a book by author and economist Tim Jackson. It was originally released as a report by the Sustainable Development Commission. The study rapidly became the most downloaded report in the Commission's nine-year history when it was published in 2009. The report was later that year reworked and published as a book by Earthscan. A revised and expanded edition was published in January 2017.

The OECD Better Life Index, created in May 2011 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, is an initiative pioneering the development of economic indicators which better capture multiple dimensions of economic and social progress.

Wikiprogress is a defunct online platform for sharing information on the measurement of social, economic and environmental progress. It is thought to facilitate sharing on ideas, initiatives and knowledge on "measuring the progress of societies". Like Wikipedia, it was open to all members and communities for contribution – anyone interested in "progress" could register.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Jackson (economist)</span> British ecological economist (born 1957)

Tim Jackson is a British ecological economist and professor of sustainable development at the University of Surrey. He is the director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP), a multi-disciplinary, international research consortium which aims to understand the economic, social and political dimensions of sustainable prosperity. Tim Jackson is the author of Prosperity Without Growth and Material Concerns (1996). In 2016, he received the Hillary Laureate for exceptional mid-career Leadership. His most recent book Post Growth—Life After Capitalism was published in March 2021 by Polity Press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post-growth</span> Beyond optimum economic growth

Post-growth is a stance on economic growth concerning the limits-to-growth dilemma — recognition that, on a planet of finite material resources, extractive economies and populations cannot grow infinitely. The term "post-growth" acknowledges that economic growth can generate beneficial effects up to a point, but beyond that point it is necessary to look for other indicators and techniques to increase human wellbeing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Happiness Report</span> Publication ranking national happiness based on respondent ratings of their lives

The World Happiness Report is a publication that contains articles and rankings of national happiness, based on respondent ratings of their own lives, which the report also correlates with various life factors. As of March 2023, Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world six times in a row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Hickel</span> Economic anthropologist (born 1982)

Jason Edward Hickel is an Eswazi anthropologist and professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Hickel's research and writing focuses on economic anthropology and development, and is particularly critical of capitalism, neocolonialism, as well as economic growth as a model of human development.

References

  1. ↑ "Definition of Prosperity". Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. Random House. February 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
  2. ↑ Cowling, Keith (July 2006). "Prosperity, Depression and Modern Capitalism". Kyklos. 59 (3): 369–381. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6435.2006.00337.x. S2CID   153790728. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  3. ↑ Gottlieb, Roger S. (2003). Liberating Faith. Rowman and Littlefield. p. 288. ISBN   978-0-7425-2535-1.
  4. ↑ Easterlin, Roger A. (September 2003). "Explaining happiness". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 100 (19): 11176–83. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1633144100 . PMC   196947 . PMID   12958207.
  5. ↑ Kinsley, Michael J. (1997). "Sustainable development: Prosperity without growth" (PDF). Rocky Mountain Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2009.
  6. ↑ Kinsley, Michael J.; Lovins, L. Hunter. "Paying for Growth, Prospering from Development". Rocky Mountain Institute. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Verstegen, S. W.; Hanekamp, J. C. (December 2005). "The sustainability debate: Idealism versus conformism—the controversy over economic growth". Globalizations. 2 (3): 349–362. doi:10.1080/14747730500367843. S2CID   144638267.
  8. ↑ Jackson, Tim (1996). Material Concerns — Pollution, Profit and Quality of Life . Routledge. pp.  177–193.
  9. ↑ Prosperity Without Growth? Archived 5 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine The Transition to a Sustainable Economy | Report to the UK Sustainable Development Commission, 2008.
  10. ↑ Jackson, Tim (2009). Prosperity Without Growth. Routledge.
  11. ↑ Demaria, Federico (27 March 2018). "The rise - and future - of the degrowth movement". The Ecologist. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  12. ↑ Briggs, Helen (2 February 2021). "Prosperity comes at 'devastating' cost to nature". BBC. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  13. ↑ Argyle, Michael (December 1997). "Is happiness a cause of health?". Psychology & Health. 12 (6): 769–781. doi:10.1080/08870449708406738.
  14. ↑ "Economic wellbeing masks UK's unravelling social fabric". The Times. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  15. ↑ "Tolerance towards LGBT+ people seen rising globally". Reuters. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  16. ↑ "The world is doing much better than the bad news makes us think". Washington Post. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  17. ↑ Klimes, F.; Turek, F. (February 1984). "The prosperity and stability of clovers in intensive grassland at higher altitudes (Lathyrus pratensis, species composition, fertilization)". Plant Ecology. 30 (2): 177. ISSN   0035-8371.
  18. ↑ Davis, J. S.; Lipkin, Y. (September 1986). "Lamprothamnium prosperity in permanently hypersaline water". Swiss Journal of Hydrology. 48 (2): 240–246. doi:10.1007/BF02560200. ISSN   1420-9055. S2CID   20307043.
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