Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was created to measure a country’s economic performance, since it quantifies a flow of goods and money (Gadrey & Florence, 2005). In the course of time it has been implicitly inferred that GDP measures the progress of a nation and therefore citizens’ quality of life. To counter that assumption several alternative indexes have been proposed to integrate or to substitute GDP: the future goal is to create a set of indicators to monitor the progress of Society. We suggest that objective measures have to be integrated with subjective indicators of wellbeing, considering also dimensions different from Subjective Well Being (SWB). SWB gained a main role as indicator of wellbeing tout court (Kahneman, Diener & Schwartz, 1999), even if it represents merely the hedonic aspect of wellbeing. In fact it takes into account only the satisfaction of desires that make life pleasant. We propose to refer also to Eudaimonic wellbeing (Ryan & Deci, 2001; Ryff & Keyes, 1995), which promotes the full actualization of individual potentials (Inghilleri, 1999). The human flourishing (Fredrickson, 2001) and the attainment of wellbeing are not simply achieved by satisfying any individual desire; only being holistically engaged, intrinsically motivated (Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1988) and related with the others can produce a personal growth. The Eudaimonic wellbeing is antagonized by the materialism promoted by the consumerist model (Inghilleri, 2003). Furthermore Kasser (2006) describes the price that western societies have to pay for this way of living in terms of personal, social and ecological costs. In conformity with the criticism to the main western life style, Degrowth Theory (Latouche, 2004; 2007) proposes a series of principles aiming to foster equality, reduction of ecological footprint and social relations. Contrasting also with a model of Sustainable Development, that doesn’t question the economic model reigning nowadays, Degrowth highlights how a model of endless growth is not compatible with a closed system as our planet is (Georgescu-Roegen, 1977). The promotion of an Eudaimonic wellbeing and the respect for the environment converge in such a theory. We focused on this cultural movement for various reasons: firstly it is a vital movement that attracts many social actors at several levels (NGO, public institutions, individuals); secondly it does not criticize the economy itself, but the use made of it nowadays. In fact Degrowth claims that the economy should not be used as a general system of representation of reality (Fournier, 2008); we suggest that the economy should be a tool for pursuing a better quality of life. The proposal of such cultural shift unveils the reification that the economy has undergone and offers the opportunity for an individual reflection, that can produce an increased self-awareness and personal growth. The capability to foster Eudaimonic wellbeing is the surplus value we recognize in respect to the paradigm of Sustainable Development. Degrowth firstly appeared in France as a cultural movement and then spread into other countries. In Italy Degrowth became in 2007 one of the goals of the Virtuous Municipalities' Association (VMA), counting 30 Municipalities across Italy (www.comunivirtuosi.org); the aim of the Association is to carry out in each municipality a series of good practices in accordance to its Statute. In this paper we focus on the Municipality of Mezzago (Milan), a single case study of a wider research conducted on the VMA (Inghilleri et al., 2008; Riva & Boffi, 2009). A semi-structured interview was carried out with municipal officers inquiring how they are promoting (directly or indirectly) a set of personal characteristics -defined as "Strengths" and "Virtues" by Peterson & Seligman (2004)- found to be directly related with Eudaimonic wellbeing. In addition we run a focus group with municipal officers to understand values and processes that give birth to local projects. A Virtuous Municipality Data Sheet Analysis was created to monitor municipal activity and good practices. Eventually, in order to analyze citizens’ satisfaction with local government, we administered a questionnaire composed by 25 items referring to service satisfaction, environmental satisfaction, urban furniture, social opportunities and urban safety. The results show that the municipal administration mainly reinforces the Strengths of Curiosity, Social Intelligence and Fairness carrying out projects to increase citizens’ awareness of social relations, environmental protection (in particular to limit land cover), consumption decrease and meaningful use of the time. The municipality carries out practices that could be an example for other similar contexts activating local resources without any institutional push. We suggest that the increasing number of municipalities that have joined the Association (from 4 to 30 municipalities in four years) shows the effectiveness of such practices in making citizenship flourish while answering local needs. For that reasons such initiatives should be encouraged. In conclusion this case study remarks that an administration able to attain at the local level meaningful processes with grassroots participation provides several opportunities to increase citizens’ personal growth and life fulfilment. Those are the basic conditions to produce Eudaimonic wellbeing, whose measuring we should not ignore.

From sustainable development to degrowth : Italian municipalities on the road to well-being / M. Guerini, M. Boffi. ((Intervento presentato al convegno From GDP to well-being : economics on the road to sustainability tenutosi a Ancona nel 2009.

From sustainable development to degrowth : Italian municipalities on the road to well-being

M. Boffi
Ultimo
2009

Abstract

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was created to measure a country’s economic performance, since it quantifies a flow of goods and money (Gadrey & Florence, 2005). In the course of time it has been implicitly inferred that GDP measures the progress of a nation and therefore citizens’ quality of life. To counter that assumption several alternative indexes have been proposed to integrate or to substitute GDP: the future goal is to create a set of indicators to monitor the progress of Society. We suggest that objective measures have to be integrated with subjective indicators of wellbeing, considering also dimensions different from Subjective Well Being (SWB). SWB gained a main role as indicator of wellbeing tout court (Kahneman, Diener & Schwartz, 1999), even if it represents merely the hedonic aspect of wellbeing. In fact it takes into account only the satisfaction of desires that make life pleasant. We propose to refer also to Eudaimonic wellbeing (Ryan & Deci, 2001; Ryff & Keyes, 1995), which promotes the full actualization of individual potentials (Inghilleri, 1999). The human flourishing (Fredrickson, 2001) and the attainment of wellbeing are not simply achieved by satisfying any individual desire; only being holistically engaged, intrinsically motivated (Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1988) and related with the others can produce a personal growth. The Eudaimonic wellbeing is antagonized by the materialism promoted by the consumerist model (Inghilleri, 2003). Furthermore Kasser (2006) describes the price that western societies have to pay for this way of living in terms of personal, social and ecological costs. In conformity with the criticism to the main western life style, Degrowth Theory (Latouche, 2004; 2007) proposes a series of principles aiming to foster equality, reduction of ecological footprint and social relations. Contrasting also with a model of Sustainable Development, that doesn’t question the economic model reigning nowadays, Degrowth highlights how a model of endless growth is not compatible with a closed system as our planet is (Georgescu-Roegen, 1977). The promotion of an Eudaimonic wellbeing and the respect for the environment converge in such a theory. We focused on this cultural movement for various reasons: firstly it is a vital movement that attracts many social actors at several levels (NGO, public institutions, individuals); secondly it does not criticize the economy itself, but the use made of it nowadays. In fact Degrowth claims that the economy should not be used as a general system of representation of reality (Fournier, 2008); we suggest that the economy should be a tool for pursuing a better quality of life. The proposal of such cultural shift unveils the reification that the economy has undergone and offers the opportunity for an individual reflection, that can produce an increased self-awareness and personal growth. The capability to foster Eudaimonic wellbeing is the surplus value we recognize in respect to the paradigm of Sustainable Development. Degrowth firstly appeared in France as a cultural movement and then spread into other countries. In Italy Degrowth became in 2007 one of the goals of the Virtuous Municipalities' Association (VMA), counting 30 Municipalities across Italy (www.comunivirtuosi.org); the aim of the Association is to carry out in each municipality a series of good practices in accordance to its Statute. In this paper we focus on the Municipality of Mezzago (Milan), a single case study of a wider research conducted on the VMA (Inghilleri et al., 2008; Riva & Boffi, 2009). A semi-structured interview was carried out with municipal officers inquiring how they are promoting (directly or indirectly) a set of personal characteristics -defined as "Strengths" and "Virtues" by Peterson & Seligman (2004)- found to be directly related with Eudaimonic wellbeing. In addition we run a focus group with municipal officers to understand values and processes that give birth to local projects. A Virtuous Municipality Data Sheet Analysis was created to monitor municipal activity and good practices. Eventually, in order to analyze citizens’ satisfaction with local government, we administered a questionnaire composed by 25 items referring to service satisfaction, environmental satisfaction, urban furniture, social opportunities and urban safety. The results show that the municipal administration mainly reinforces the Strengths of Curiosity, Social Intelligence and Fairness carrying out projects to increase citizens’ awareness of social relations, environmental protection (in particular to limit land cover), consumption decrease and meaningful use of the time. The municipality carries out practices that could be an example for other similar contexts activating local resources without any institutional push. We suggest that the increasing number of municipalities that have joined the Association (from 4 to 30 municipalities in four years) shows the effectiveness of such practices in making citizenship flourish while answering local needs. For that reasons such initiatives should be encouraged. In conclusion this case study remarks that an administration able to attain at the local level meaningful processes with grassroots participation provides several opportunities to increase citizens’ personal growth and life fulfilment. Those are the basic conditions to produce Eudaimonic wellbeing, whose measuring we should not ignore.
dic-2009
well being ; degrowth ; gdp
Settore M-PSI/05 - Psicologia Sociale
Settore M-GGR/01 - Geografia
http://fromgdptowellbeing.univpm.it/programme.html
From sustainable development to degrowth : Italian municipalities on the road to well-being / M. Guerini, M. Boffi. ((Intervento presentato al convegno From GDP to well-being : economics on the road to sustainability tenutosi a Ancona nel 2009.
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