Why happiness is a global issue

Nic Marks at The Guardian writes on the importance of seeing happiness as a business and political issue:

But happiness is also a serious 21st century global issue: how on earth are we going to create political, economic and social systems that support nine billion people to live in harmony with each other and the one planet we all share?

If we don't globally reflect on what a good human life is, then we are in serious trouble. Surely a good human life does not have to be an intensive and materialistic life? That pathway – which is our current one – can only lead to a hellishly hot future, probably with massive structural inequalities (as the powerful control the increasingly limited environmental resources such as water and sources of energy) and not much human happiness.

His point is a good one, and something we've covered here in the past (see links to the left). Our mission at TreeHugger has been "to drive sustainability mainstream." But why?

As Marks explains, the ultimate goal is to "not just survive, but to thrive." For our part, we want to create a sustainable world, because that is a key to happier, healthier people and more resilient communities, which is ultimately what we want. But we need to get that angle into the public debate.

Check out the links at the left for more on happiness and sustainability. And read the rest of the piece at The Guardian for more.

Tags: Agenda 21 | resilience | Sustainable Development


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