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<p>Nearly one hundred years ago, John M. Keynes envisioned a future where material concerns would fade, allowing individuals to focus on leisure and well-being. Similar expectations were common in Keynes’ days, when industrial progress promised to yield productivity gains, which would increase wages and lift workers out of poverty. Freed from material constraints, individuals would devote more attention to personal interests, relationships, and quality of life. One hundred years later, history proved that Keynes was right about economic growth, but individuals remain focused on material concerns at the expense of quality of life and of the environment. Why did economic activity deliver affluent, but socially and environmentally unsustainable societies? What possibilities are there for our future, the one of our grandchildren? In this article, we first review the evidence on the unsustainability of the current economic model. We discuss the role of economic growth for well-being, providing new evidence on defensive consumption, and illustrating an alternative explanation of unsustainability. We then discuss Neo-humanism, an evidence-based narrative to promote thriving lives in socially and environmentally sustainable societies. Neo-humanism hinges on insights from decades of research in quality of life.</p>

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Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren Reloaded: How to Promote Sustainable Well-Being for all

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月7日

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  • Francesco Sarracino,
  • Giulia Slater

摘要

Nearly one hundred years ago, John M. Keynes envisioned a future where material concerns would fade, allowing individuals to focus on leisure and well-being. Similar expectations were common in Keynes’ days, when industrial progress promised to yield productivity gains, which would increase wages and lift workers out of poverty. Freed from material constraints, individuals would devote more attention to personal interests, relationships, and quality of life. One hundred years later, history proved that Keynes was right about economic growth, but individuals remain focused on material concerns at the expense of quality of life and of the environment. Why did economic activity deliver affluent, but socially and environmentally unsustainable societies? What possibilities are there for our future, the one of our grandchildren? In this article, we first review the evidence on the unsustainability of the current economic model. We discuss the role of economic growth for well-being, providing new evidence on defensive consumption, and illustrating an alternative explanation of unsustainability. We then discuss Neo-humanism, an evidence-based narrative to promote thriving lives in socially and environmentally sustainable societies. Neo-humanism hinges on insights from decades of research in quality of life.