Buzzword or breakthrough beyond growth? The mainstreaming of the Wellbeing Economy | Anders Hayden

Anders Hayden’s article “Buzzword or breakthrough beyond growth? The mainstreaming of the Wellbeing Economy” was recently published in Ecological Economics.

Read the abstract below and the full article here.

A wellbeing economy (WE) has been promoted by many advocates of a post-growth economy. Drawing on the growing WE literature, including detailed case studies of Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo), the article asks: does growing support for a WE represent a breakthrough for post-growth economic ideas? Or has mainstreaming the WE concept emptied it of radical post-growth content? The WE experience is interpreted in light of an earlier debate in the international development community over the mainstreaming of radical concepts that were purged of transformative meanings – becoming buzzwords that did not fundamentally alter existing practices. Wellbeing and the WE similarly risk becoming buzzwords: feel-good ideas that are hard to oppose, but which users can fill with their own meanings and political agendas. The WE’s post-growth roots are contrasted with the pro-growth meanings given to it by organizations including the OECD and WEGo nations. The WE has nevertheless shown some promise in enabling limited steps in a post-growth direction in WEGo nations (within a broader context of continued pursuit of growth). The article presents – and invites debate on – some possible responses to resist dilution of the WE concept and advance a transformative post-growth vision.