THEMES / NATURE OF PROSPERITY

The Nature of Prosperity Dialogue

A prosperous society is concerned not only with income and financial wealth, but also with the health and wellbeing of its citizens, with their access to good quality education, and with their prospects for decent and rewarding work. Prosperity enables basic individual rights and freedoms. But it must also deliver the ability for people to participate meaningfully in common projects. Ultimately, prosperity must offer society a credible and inclusive vision of social progress. The over-arching goal of CUSP is to contribute to that essential task.

Image © Courtesy of Bank of England

CUSP is exploring what it means to live a ‘good life’ within the ecological constraints of a finite planet. As part of this, we are developing a series of ‘sustainable prosperity narratives’: stories that describe sustainable, prosperous futures and how we might get there. 

We have initiated an extended public dialogue aimed at bringing together people from all walks of life and all sectors of society to develop new visions for a lasting and sustainable prosperity. Chaired by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, The Nature of Prosperity offers a stimulating environment for discussion and a creative forum for change—a decidedly public theme.

The 7th event in our Nature of Prosperity dialogue (held under the patronage of Dr Rowan Williams) will explore how community level innovations can tackle health, affordability and sustainability in our food systems.

How can we nurture visions of the good life that preserve nature and protect the interests of future generations? Can new institutions help us to re-invigorate democracy? Can creativity inspire us to conserve what we love? How can we become the ‘good ancestors’ we would wish for our kids, in the world they will inherit?

Conventional politics is in upheaval; democratic participation is under threat. And yet, in the midst of chaos and uncertainty, new and distinct political visions are suddenly finding an unexpected voice. Hosted by Rowan Williams, chaired by Tim Jackson.

We’re delighted to be joined in Westminster by Kerry Kennedy, US human rights lawyer and daughter of RFK, Clive Lewis MP, Shadow Treasury Minister, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation, Michael Jacobs, Director of the IPPR Commission on Economic Justice, and Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury.

CUSP and the William Morris Society are delighted to invite you to a joint symposium on the Nature of Prosperity. The event will offer an afternoon of philosophical conversations on the themes of ethics and Utopian thinking, and how they can inform concepts of sustainable prosperity.

In challenging and uncertain times, our theme for second in our series of dialogues on the Nature of Prosperity was the role of hope in redefining and delivering prosperity. The dialogue series is chaired by Baron Rowan Williams and featured Jørgen Randers, Graeme Maxton and Camilla Toulmin.

The event is the first in a series of public debates (hosted by CUSP) engaging young and old alike across business, policy and civil society in one of the most vital questions of our time: what does prosperity mean in a world of environmental and social limits?

#ProsperityIs | CUSP is exploring what it means to live a ‘good life’ within the ecological constraints of a finite planet. As part of this, we are developing a series of ‘sustainable prosperity narratives’: stories that describe sustainable, prosperous futures and how we might get there.  Under the umbrella of our Nature of Prosperity dialogue, we launched a public engagement campaign to elicit the views of the wider community about what the nature of prosperity is. This and other projects feed into the story-development process. We test these stories using economic models.