A well‐being manifesto for a flourishing society
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17465729200400023 |
| Published date | 01 December 2004 |
| Pages | 9-15 |
| Date | 01 December 2004 |
| Author | Nic Marks,Hetan Shah |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
journal of mental health promotion •volume 3•issue 4 •december 2004 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Ltd
A well-being manifesto for a flourishing society
ABSTRACT
Although economic output has nearly doubled in the last 30 years, life satisfaction levels in the UK and other developed countries have
remained resolutely flat, with evidence that depression and anxiety are increasing, notably among young people. While governments in the
developed world focus on economic development as the key route to well-being, a growing body of research suggests that, once basic
needs have been met, this approach is flawed. This well-being manifesto for a flourishing society, produced by the think tank new economics
foundation (nef), proposes eight alternative priorities for government action to promote well-being. While the focus is on UK policy and the
examples are largely drawn from the UK, the key themes of the manifesto will apply to many developed country contexts.
Nic Marks
new economics foundation
Hetan Shah
new economics foundation
Manifesto
One of the key aims of a democratic government is to
promote the good life: a flourishing society where
citizens are happy, healthy, capable and engaged – in
other words, with high levels of well-being. Well-being
is more than just happiness. As well as feeling satisfied
and happy, well-being means developing as a person,
being fulfilled, and making a contribution to the
community. What would politics look like if
promoting people’s well-being was one of government’s
main aims? The neweconomics foundation (nef)set
out to answer this question through the production of
a well-being manifesto.
The new economics foundation’s model of well-
being has two personal dimensions and a social context:
•satisfaction with life, which is generally measured by
an indicator called life satisfaction that captures
satisfaction, pleasure and enjoyment (Diener, 1994)
•personal development, for which there is not yet
one standard psychological indicator. The concept
includes being engaged in life, curiosity,‘flow’ (a
state of absorption where hours pass like minutes),
personal development and growth, autonomy,
fulfilling potential, having a purpose in life, and the
feeling that life has meaning (Csikszentmihalyi,
1997; Ryff, 1995; Ryan & Deci, 2001)
•social well-being, which describes a sense of
belonging to our communities, a positive attitude
towards others, feeling that we are contributing to
society and engaging in pro-social behaviour, and
believing that society is capable of developing
positively. This schema is based on the
classification of social well-being developed by Corey
Keyes (Keyes & Haidt, 2003).
Wheredoes our well-being come from? Research
(Lyubomirsky et al,2004) suggests there are three main
influences:
•parents, through our genes and our upbringing,
influence about 50 per cent of the variation in
happiness between people (Pinker, 2002). There is
an interaction between genetic pre-dispositions and
our upbringing and environment: thus the
environment can be moulded to facilitate positive
pre-dispositions and prevent the activation of
negativepre-dispositions
•circumstances, which include factors such as
income, material possessions and marital status, as
well as environmental circumstances such as
neighbourhood and climate. These factors account
for only ten per cent of our well-being. Does money
make us happier? Not after our basic needs are met,
because we are always moving the goalposts. We
adapt very quickly to the material gains that come
from increases in income, and wealso compare
ourselves to others who have more and this can lead
to dissatisfaction
•outlook and activities, such as friendships, being
involved in the community, hobbies and attitude to
life. These account for 40 per cent of the variation
in our happiness. They include working towards our
goals, socialising, exercising, and involvement in
engaging and meaningful work. They also include
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