Abstract
There is nothing new about striving for wellbeing but the concept is particularly useful at the moment, both because the rise of right-wing populism makes the need for an alternative to conventional measures of policy success acute, and because developments in measurement and analysis make such an alternative practical. This chapter sets out two different conceptions of wellbeing, how they are reconciled in the concept of flourishing, and how this can be measured. It then describes how wellbeing can be used in policy in general and its implications for economic policy in particular. It also describes how it can help those developing plans for sustainability. It then touches on its role as a unifying narrative before describing the way it can represent a break with standard welfare economics, and thus a break with the economic ideology that currently predominates. Finally there are some very brief suggestions on next steps.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdallah, S., Stoll, L., & Eiffe, F. (2013). Quality of Life in Europe: Subjective Well-Being. Dublin: Eurofound. Available at: https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/report/2013/quality-of-life-social-policies/quality-of-life-in-europe-subjective-well-being.
Airports Commission. (2015). Final Report. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/airports-commission-final-report.
Bache, I., & Reardon, L. (2016). The Politics and Policy of Wellbeing: Understanding the Rise and Significance of a New Agenda. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Berry, C. (2014). Wellbeing in Four Policy Areas: Report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Wellbeing Economics. London: New Economics Foundation. Available at: http://b.3cdn.net/nefoundation/ccdf9782b6d8700f7c_lcm6i2ed7.pdf.
Burke, E. (1790). Reflections on the Revolution in France. London: J. Dodsley. Available at: http://www.constitution.org/eb/rev_fran.htm.
Cabinet Office. (2013). Wellbeing Policy and Analysis: An Update of Wellbeing Work across Whitehall. London: Cabinet Office. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/224910/Wellbeing_Policy_and_Analysis_FINAL.PDF.
Chadwick, E. (1842). Report into the Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population of Great Britain. London: HMSO. Available at: http://www.deltaomega.org/documents/ChadwickClassic.pdf.
Cheptea, C., Guajardo, J., Halikias, I., Jurzyk, E., Lin, H., Lusinyan, L., et al. (2014). What Do Past Reforms Tell Us about Fostering Job Creation in Western Europe? In Jobs and Growth: Supporting the European Recovery. Washington: IMF.
Dennett, D. (1996). Kinds of Minds: Towards an Understanding of Consciousness. New York: Basic Books.
Dietrich, A. (2007). Introduction to Consciousness. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Dolan, P. (2014). Happiness by Design. London: Penguin.
Easterlin, R., McVey, L., Switek, M., Sawangfa, O., & Zweig, J. (2010). The Happiness–Income Paradox Revisited. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(52), 22463–22468.
Hacker, J. (2011). The Institutional Foundations of Middle Class Democracy. London: Policy Network.
Jackson, T. (2009). Prosperity without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet. Abingdon: Routledge.
Jacobs, M. (2011). Wellbeing: The Challenge for Labour. In C. Seaford (Ed.), The Practical Politics of Wellbeing. London: New Economics Foundation.
Jeffreys, K., & Seaford, C. (2014). Report on Definitions of the Green Economy and Progress towards it. NETGREEN project deliverable 2.1. Available at: http://netgreen-project.eu/deliverables. Accessed September 22, 2016.
John Paul II. (1981). Laborem Exercens. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Available at: http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091981_laborem-exercens.html. Accessed September 22, 2016.
Keyes, C. (2002). The Mental Health Continuum: From Languishing to Flourishing in Life. Journal of Health and Social Research, 43, 207–222.
Macintyre, A. (1981). After Virtue. London: Duckworth.
Macpherson, N. (2014). Speech by the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, The Treasury View: A Testament of Experience. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/speech-by-the-permanent-secretary-to-the-treasury-the-treasury-view-a-testament-of-experience. Accessed February 21, 2017.
Marx, K. (1844). Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. Available at: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/labour.htm. Accessed September 22, 2016.
Nussbaum, M. (2000). Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Oakeshott, M. (1962). On Being Conservative. In M. Oakeshott (Ed.), Rationalism in Politics and Other Essays. Carmel: Liberty Fund.
O’Donnell, G., Deaton, A., Durand, M., Halpern, D., & Layard, R. (2014). Wellbeing and Policy. London: Legatum.
OECD. (2014). Economic Policy Reforms 2014: Going for Growth Interim Report. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Available at: http://media.rspp.ru/document/1/5/c/5c05f7ac8f8ce26fe4e4ae3d446c5d5f.pdf.
OECD. (2015). All on Board: Making Inclusive Growth Happen. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/inclusive-growth/All-on-Board-Making-Inclusive-Growth-Happen.pdf.
Office for National Statistics. (2016). Measures of National Wellbeing. Available at: https://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/HTMLDocs/dvc146/wrapper.html. Accessed September 22, 2016.
Oliff-Cooper, J. (2011). Wellbeing: A Conservative Issue. In C. Seaford (Ed.), The Practical Politics of Wellbeing. London: New Economics Foundation.
Ryan, R., & Deci, E. (2000). Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being. American Psychology, 55, 68–78.
Ryff, C., & Singer, B. (1998). The Contours of Positive Human Health. Psychological Inquiry, 9, 1–2.
Sachs, J., Layard, R., & Helliwell, J. (2012). World Happiness Report. New York: The Earth Institute-Columbia University. Available at: https://worldhappiness.report/.
Scott, K. (2012). Measuring Wellbeing: Towards Sustainability? Abingdon: Routledge.
Seaford, C. (2014a). What Implications Does Wellbeing Science have for Economic Policy? In T. Hamalainen & J. Michaelson (Eds.), Wellbeing and Beyond. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Seaford, C. (2014b). Happy Planet, Happy Economy, Happy Consumers? In M. Tatzel (Ed.), Consumption and Well-Being in the Material World. Dordrecht: Springer.
Sen, A. (1985). Commodities and Capabilities. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Stewart-Brown, S., & Janmohamed, K., updated by Taggart, S., Stewart-Brown, S. and Parkinson, J. (2016). Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale: User Guide Version 2. Edinburgh: NHS Scotland. Available at: http://www.healthscotland.com/uploads/documents/26787-WEMWBS%20User%20Guide%20Version%202%20May%202015.pdf.
Stiglitz, J., Sen, A., & Fitoussi, J-P. (2009). Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/118025/118123/Fitoussi+Commission+report.
Taylor, M. (2011). In Favour of Life and Wholeness. In C. Seaford (Ed.), The Practical Politics of Wellbeing. London: New Economics Foundation.
Waldman, S. (2014). Welfare Economics. Available at: http://www.interfluidity.com/v2/5537.html. Accessed September 22, 2016.
Welzel, C. (2013). Freedom Rising: Human Empowerment and the Quest for Emancipation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
World Values Survey. (2016). Findings and Insights. Available at: http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSContents.jsp. Accessed September 22, 2016.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Seaford, C. (2018). Is Wellbeing a Useful Concept for Progressives?. In: Bache, I., Scott, K. (eds) The Politics of Wellbeing . Wellbeing in Politics and Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58394-5_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58394-5_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-58393-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-58394-5
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)