Just read a phenomenal article from the latest Alternatives magazine by Mark Anielski. His article focuses on the need for economists to change how they view the relationships of money to people to society. As Linda McQuaig put it "we need to make the economy serve society rather than the other way around". Your knee jerk response may be that you, most certainly do not serve the economy..... oh but we do. We buy and buy 'stuff'. We work harder and harder, make more money (disposable) than ever and yet, our ratings of happiness have not changed appreciably in the last 50 years along with that huge financial jump. Why is that? Hmmm. Because we serve a system that dictates our everything.
It reminds me of how David Suzuki explained the 'economy' as becoming an entity unto itself, as though it breathed life. When in fact, it was a creation of economist following the second world war. If we created it.... can't we change it? This is what writer/economist Mark Anielski is advocating for. Changes that reflect a need for a system which puts emphasis on all parts of society that leads to 'happiness'. His model, is the "genuine wealth model" which sees happiness of a society as being rooted in balance between (1)human capital (2)natural capital (3)financial capital (4)built capital (5)social capital. We place undue emphasis on the financial and built (structures- man made things) capital to the detriment of our natural or environmental capital and we fail to see the importance of social capital.
Scientists have discovered that 50% of happiness is based on genetic material and to some extent our childhood and adolescent experiences. Of the remaining 50%, 10% is what we ourselves determine and the other 40% is driven by the relationships we have with friends, family and our communities. That is our social capital-- the relationships that are within communities, that connect us, support us and give to us. Hardly reflected in the big box strip malls and ever erupting new suburban developments. We need to reconnect within society, build social capital once again. Balance our obsession with the financial and built capital with equal care for our environmental capital and the needs of our human capital.
In an article that follows in the journal, "Simple, Fairer, Richer" written by Sally Lerner, it is stated that there is "no excuse for allowing society to slide into a situation where vast numbers of north americans are unemployed or underemployed and thereby trapped in stigmatized underclass where their children face decreasing opportunities". Are we really building our human capital by continuing an economic system where more people than ever are reliant on food banks? Are we building human capital when we send kids to school hungry? Luckily, we have people who care and see the need for developing social infrastructure where it is not. Creating non-profits, charities and food banks. Filing gaps left by our 'miraculous' economy.
I think we all need to stop and think.... we are judged in the end by how we treat the most vulnerable. If we met the most vulnerables needs, everyone elses would be met also. We are not just in an ecological crisis, we are also at a social crisis. The two are inextricably linked-- as pointed out by Anielski in his article. Sustainability of happiness within a society is reliant on a BALANCE between the built, financial, human, social, and environmental capitals. Where is your balance?
