The value of a restored Earth and its contribution to a sustainable and desirable future

Abstract

The purpose of the economy should be to provide for the sustainable well-being of people. That goal encompasses material well-being, certainly, but also anything else that affects well-being and its sustainability. This seems obvious and non- controversial. The problem comes in determining what things actually affect well- being and in what ways. There is substantial new research on this �science of happiness� that shows the limits of earning and spending money in supporting well-being. Kasser points out, for instance, that people who focus on material consumption as a path to happiness are actually less happy and even suffer higher rates of both physical and mental illnesses than those who do not. Material consumption beyond real need is a form of psychological �junk food� that only satisfies for the moment and ultimately leads to depression, Kasser says.