Originally Posted by CPWILL
Originally Posted by logtroll
What does prosperous mean to you?
I'll admit to having defined it here in economic terms. If you were to ask me what a Prosperous Life looked like, I would probably also talk about family, community, a feeling of earned achievement, and the belief that one has made a difference in the lives of others.
I would add that prosperity assessment needs to include externalized costs (think climate change), security (healthcare and economic), sustainability (stewardship of resources), etc. And the very idea that economic prosperity can include maxxing out multiple credit cards and other sorts of indulgent debt to live prosperously is highly suspect.

I think an objective and thoughtful assessment of historically comparative "prosperity" would be difficult, but would show that we certainly have the most profligate society ever, but not the most prosperous.

You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.
R. Buckminster Fuller