Ideas
Mark Anielski

The Concept of Genuine Wealth and “The Economics of Happiness”

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

The Concept of Genuine Wealth and “The Economics of Happiness”

We all know that money can’t buy you love…or happiness. But we have been living our lives as though the accumulation of wealth is the key to our dreams. North Americans have never been wealthier, but over the past 50 years our increasing prosperity has hardly made a dent on our happiness while many conditions of well-being are in decline.

So why do our measures of economic progress not reflect the values that make us happy: supportive relationships, meaningful work, a healthy environment and spiritual well-being?

Economist Mark Anielski has developed a new and practical economic model called Genuine Wealth, to measure the real determinants of well-being and help redefine progress. In his book, The Economics of Happiness he explains:

• How economics, accounting, capitalism, and banking, which dominate our consciousness, can be reoriented towards the pursuit of genuine happiness.
• How to rediscover the original meaning of the language of economics.
• How to measure Genuine Wealth, which consists of five capital assets: human, social, natural, built and financial.
• How nations, governments, communities and businesses are using the Genuine Wealth model to build the new economy of well-being.
• How you and your family can apply the Genuine Wealth model in your own lives.