A manifesto for wellbeing
(From the Australian Institute)
Preamble
Australians are three times richer than their parents and grandparents were
in the 1950s, but they are no happier. Despite the evidence of a decline
in national wellbeing, governments continue to put economic interests first.
The obsession with economic growth means other things that could improve
our wellbeing are sacrificed.
There is widespread community concern that the values of the market—individualism,
selfishness, materialism, competition—are driving out the
more desirable values of trust, self-restraint, mutual respect
and generosity. Many people feel alienated from the political process;
the main parties seem too alike and think of progress only in material
terms.
The challenge of our age is to build a new politics that is committed,
above all, to improving our wellbeing.
Wellbeing
Throughout history sages have counselled that happiness is not a goal but a
consequence of how we live, that it comes from being content with what we
have. Today, we are sold a different message—that we will be happy
only if we have more money and more of the things money buys. Human experience
and scientific research do not support this belief.
Our wellbeing is shaped by our genes, our upbringing, our personal
circumstances and choices, and the social conditions in which we
live. Our collective wellbeing is improved if we live in a peaceful,
flourishing, supportive society, so promoting wellbeing should
be a public as well as a personal task.
We often think of wellbeing as happiness, but it is more than
that. It is about having meaning in our lives—developing
as a person and feeling that our lives are fulfilling and worthwhile.
Wellbeing comes from having a web of relationships and interests.
Family and friends, work, leisure activities and spiritual beliefs
can all increase our wellbeing. The intimacy, sense of belonging
and support offered by close personal relationships are of greatest
value. Material comforts are essential up to a point, and there
is no doubt that poverty remains a serious problem in Australia.
But for most Australians more money would add little to their wellbeing.
What can governments do?
Governments can’t legislate to make us happy, but many things they do
affect our wellbeing. Industrial relations laws can damage or improve the quality
of our working lives; government policies can protect the environment or see
it defiled; our children’s education depends on the quality of schools;
tax policies can make the difference between a fair and an unfair society;
and the cohesiveness of our communities is affected by city design and transport
plans.
This manifesto proposes nine areas in which a government could
and should enact policies to improve national wellbeing.
1. Provide fulfilling work
Fulfilling work is vital to our wellbeing; insecure, stressful and unsatisfying
jobs diminish it. High-quality work can provide us with purpose, challenge
and opportunities. Through it we can develop our capacities, begin to realise
our potential, and meet many of our social needs. In short, fulfilling work
is essential if we are to flourish. Workplaces that provide secure, rewarding
jobs should be encouraged. Workplace flexibility, including quality part-time
jobs, should operate in the interests of employees as well as employers.
Unemployment is more damaging than just the loss of income, and
disparaging unemployed people serves only to increase their anxiety
and sense of exclusion. Pursuing full employment is essential to
a wellbeing economy, as is ensuring decent minimum workplace standards.
Satisfying work can be found inside and outside the home. Work
in the household and in communities is essential to social health
but it is ignored because it falls outside the official economy.
Governments should value this work, and employers need to adapt
to the realities of family life. Maternity leave, paternity leave,
carers’ leave and sick leave are not costs but essential
to our wellbeing.
2. Reclaim our time
Among the countries of the developed world, Australians now work the longest
hours and have less holiday leave than most. We systematically overestimate
the amount of wellbeing associated with high incomes and long work hours.
As a result, our families, our health and our sense of achievement all suffer.
If Australia is to thrive, our working lives should contribute
to, rather than sap, our wellbeing and that of our families. Spending
more time with our families, friends and communities would make
most of us happier, and our workplaces must be reshaped to allow
us to reclaim our time.
To flourish as a nation—not just as an economy—we
need to limit working hours by reducing the maximum working week
to 35 hours initially and by more thereafter. Other developed countries
have reduced working hours without the often-predicted chaos. If
we took productivity gains in the form of a shorter working week
rather than higher pay we could improve our quality of life and
create new job opportunities, all without any reduction in pay.
3. Protect the environment
A healthy, diverse natural environment is valuable in itself; it is also essential
to human wellbeing. But government and business tell us we cannot afford
too much protection—it’s bad for GDP. We know, though, that the
wellbeing of future generations will be heavily affected if we fail resolutely
to tackle biodiversity loss, pollution and waste. Climate change in particular
poses a severe threat and demands immediate and far-reaching measures by
government.
We can do much more than we have to date. We should increase taxes
on damaging environmental activities such as burning fossil fuels
and reduce taxes on socially beneficial activities such as providing
fulfilling work. We should make the generation of waste very expensive
and reward businesses and households that reduce their consumption
and recycle materials.
4. Rethink education
It is impossible for all students to come first in their class, and our education
system should stop pretending they can. Our schools should be dedicated to
creating capable, confident, emotionally mature young people who are equipped
to face life’s vicissitudes.
Young Australians are told they will have up to six careers in
their lifetime, yet we insist on making high schools and universities
more vocationally oriented. As a result, students learn less about
themselves and the societies around them. A greater focus on children’s
physical, emotional and moral wellbeing—rather than competitive
test results—would produce happier, healthier young people.
We should stop turning universities into businesses selling degrees
and make them the critic and conscience of society, places where
students flourish as humans and where academics feel free to question
powerful institutions without fear of victimisation.
5. Invest in early childhood
Studies show that, for each dollar wisely invested in early childhood education
and care, we can save up to seven dollars in avoided costs of crime, unemployment,
remedial education and welfare payments. A wellbeing government would invest
more.
Children need a great deal of individual attention in their early
years. Shared parental leave should be extended to cover the first
two years of a child’s life. Parents, too, need support so
they can do the best job for their children. Adolescence too is
an important time; parents need to participate actively in the
whole developmental journey.
6. Discourage materialism and promote responsible advertising
Buying a particular brand of margarine cannot give us a happy family, and owning
a four-wheel drive will not deliver us from humdrum lives. But the advertisers
seek to persuade us otherwise. Advertising makes us more materialistic, even
though we know that people who are more materialistic are usually more self-absorbed,
less community oriented and less happy. Materialism is also bad for the environment.
Marketers have hijacked the media and most of our cultural events,
and it is impossible to escape their daily barrage. We need commercial-free
zones in our cities and limits on shopping developments. And governments
should use tax and retirement policies to help people who want
to change to less materialistic lifestyles.
Advertisers prey especially on children because they know they
lack the ability to distinguish between facts and advertising fiction.
As in Sweden, advertising aimed at children under 12 should be
banned, and advertising codes of conduct should be made legally
binding so that irresponsible and deceptive marketing is outlawed.
7. Build communities and relationships
A flourishing society is characterised by vibrant, resilient and sustainable
communities. Loneliness and isolation cause much unhappiness, especially
among single parents, unemployed people, older people living alone and people
with disabilities and their carers.
Instead of criticising single parents who do the best they can,
we should support them. Instead of judging people by their sexuality,
we should encourage all loving and supportive relationships. And
we need to help people develop the skills to build stronger family
relationships.
We all depend on others for care at some time in our lives. Care
is provided by parents, children, friends and others. We need to
value all carers more. Governments and employers should do much
more to support workers with caring responsibilities.
Governments should also support participation in community organisations,
especially among marginalised groups. Volunteers contribute greatly
to our wellbeing and need to be recognised and rewarded.
8. A fairer society
Strong economic management will always be needed; but instead of a narrow focus
on GDP growth, the objectives should include building public infrastructure
and reducing social and regional inequalities. Widening disparities in incomes
and access to services create resentment and disharmony.
Instead of blaming the victims, a wellbeing society would acknowledge
that some people are left behind by the market. A fairer system
of taxation and government spending—including better public
services and income support for those less able to compete in the
marketplace—would enhance social wellbeing.
More public funds could also go to overseas aid to help the poor
in developing countries escape from poverty and destitution.
Increased public spending on measures to improve wellbeing in
Australia could easily be financed by cutting business and middle-class
welfare and cracking down on tax avoidance.
9. Measure what matters
Economic growth is treated as the panacea for our ills. But for affluent societies
growth in GDP has almost no connection with improvements in national wellbeing.
Bushfires, car accidents and crime waves all increase GDP, but they don’t
make us better off. GDP takes no account of how increases in income are distributed
or the damage to the natural environment that economic activity can cause.
We need a set of national wellbeing accounts so that we can monitor
our progress. They should report on the quality of work, the state
of our communities, crime rates, our health, the strength of our
relationships, and the state of the environment. Governments should
be judged by how much our wellbeing improves, not by how much the
economy expands.
Towards a flourishing society
The question for Australia in the 21st century is not how we can become richer:
it is how we can use our high standard of living to build a flourishing society—one
devoted to improving our wellbeing rather than just expanding the economy.
Many Australians are anxious about declining moral standards.
We worry that we have become too selfish, materialistic and superficial
and long for a society built on mutual respect, self-restraint
and generosity of spirit.
The changes proposed in this manifesto would inspire healthier
communities, stronger personal relationships, happier workplaces,
a better balance between work and home, less commercialisation,
and greater environmental protection.
A flourishing society is not a futile hope. Australian democracy
offers people the opportunity to shed their cynicism and commit
themselves to creating a better future. (end)
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