November 16th - Material Wealth is not Enough

My thanks go to David Harvey (The Enigma of Capital) and to Ha-Joon Wong (100 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism) for helping me to understand just what 21st Century capitalism is about and how its spread across the globe is at the root of many of the problems we are facing today.
I'm thinking that to sustain itself capitalism has certain needs and that, if met, those needs might well get in the way of human 'flourishing' or 'prospering'.
Tim Jackson (Prosperity Without Growth) challenges the conventional idea that economic growth will increase well-being and lead to prosperity for all. He asserts that we need a broader definition of  'prosperity' which includes far more than having our material needs for food, shelter, clothes, etc met.   He says 'Prosperity has vital social and psychological dimensions.  To do well is in part about the ability to give and receive love, to enjoy the respect of your peers, to contribute useful work and to have a sense of belonging and trust in the community.  In short, an important component of prosperity is the ability to participate freely in the life of society.' 
I reckon though that we don't need academics to spell out to us that our 'well-being' depends on far more than material possessions.   It seems to make sense to me and I'm going to keep that in mind as I look at the way capitalism has developed over the past 200 years and the impact that has had on people's feelings of 'well-being'.