Wellbeing Archives – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

Why Is Simple Living So Complicated?

January 8, 2026/3 Comments/in Consumption, Corporate Reform, Economic Policy, Governance, Inflation, Jobs and Employment, Money and Investments, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by Keith Akers

In industrially advanced countries, we have massively overshot the limits to economic growth. Climate change, peak oil, soil erosion, mass extinctions, and groundwater depletion are already biting into our well-being. Economic and social collapse seems to be the default.

We need “simple living”—the voluntary reduction of consumption—but on a massive scale. We need other things too, like social justice and cultural changes. But let’s focus on the economic logistics of simple living.

Investors Profit from the Affordable Housing Crisis

December 31, 2025/6 Comments/in Amelia Jaycen, Corporate Reform, Corruption, Economic Policy, Governance, Inequality, Money and Investments, Steady State Herald, Wealth, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by Amelia Jaycen

Perpetual growth damages habitats, reduces human health and happiness, and replaces green infrastructure and ecosystem services with expensive, manmade gray infrastructure like roads, plumbing, and public services.

Today, we see endless suburban sprawl and no shortage of stories about the U.S. affordable-housing crisis. So, why aren’t there enough homes yet?

The story is one of “artificial scarcity,” in which there are plenty of means to close the affordable-housing gap,

Radical Post-Growth Gratitude

November 26, 2025/7 Comments/in Alix Underwood, Consumption, Economic Growth, Ideology, Inequality, Limits to Growth, Postgrowth, Steady State Herald, Wealth, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by Alix Underwood

In our paradoxical society of excess and dissatisfaction, dedicating a day to gratitude is a powerful gesture.

There is abundant evidence of the importance of gratitude for well-being. A dearth of gratitude is a critical component of Western society’s epidemic of dissatisfaction and mental illness.

It’s no coincidence that this epidemic has been accompanied by economic growth beyond planetary boundaries.

Has the Hunger-GDP Relationship Crossed a Threshold?

September 25, 2025/8 Comments/in Alix Underwood, Climate Change, Degrowth, Economic Growth, Food and Agriculture, GDP, Inequality, Limits to Growth, Poverty, Steady State Herald, Trophic Theory of Money, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by Alix Underwood

The world looked poised to end hunger in the mid-2010s, after decades of decline in the percentage of the population that is undernourished. People often attribute progress in the late 20th century to the technological advances of the “Green Revolution.” However, the revolution’s costs and benefits, and their distribution, are hotly contested. Many experts instead point simply to economic growth as the primary factor responsible for poverty reduction and,

Influenced to Overconsume: How Social Media Hijacks Sustainability

June 12, 2025/8 Comments/in Consumption, Ideology, Materials use, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Technology, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by Priya Thompson

We live in an age defined by contradiction. On one hand, the climate crisis demands urgent and systemic action. On the other hand, we are more connected to a digital world that profits—at great ecological cost—from our distraction, desires, and deeply human need to belong.

This tension is constant and personal for many Gen Z users, who overwhelmingly identify with sustainability as a lifestyle and a moral imperative.

Introducing the Sustainable Transportation Act

May 29, 2025/7 Comments/in David Shreve, Economic Policy, Fossil Fuels, Governance, Steady State Economy, Steady State Economy Act, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by David Shreve

While transportation is vital to American prosperity, the transportation sector is the largest direct contributor of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions among all economic sectors. Even though passenger-car efficiency has steadily increased in recent years, the sector’s contribution to environmental degradation has continued to rise. Since 1995, U.S. transportation sector emissions have risen by almost 20 percent.

We cannot ignore the principal problems in the U.S.

City Limits in the Hoosier State (Keeping Monroe County Great)

May 1, 2025/2 Comments/in Dave Rollo, Economic Growth, Governance, KEEP Our Counties Great, Politics, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by Dave Rollo

Monroe County, Indiana, lies just an hour south of the state capital (Indianapolis), yet it retains a rural character. The gently rolling hills and farmland of the Mitchell Plain characterize the central and western portions of the county. Porous limestone bedrock (known as karst) imposed limits on municipal water resources until the late 20th century, when the Army Corps of Engineers created Monroe Reservoir.

Whose Behavior Needs to Change? The Other Side of the International Development Coin

October 10, 2024/10 Comments/in Alix Underwood, Consumption, Economic Policy, Governance, Inequality, Limits to Growth, Postgrowth, Poverty, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Wealth, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by Alix Underwood

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” The Western-led international development sector, born in the aftermath of World War II, has evolved according to this (ironically) Chinese proverb. To better reflect the status of international development, I would append the following sentences to the worn-out proverb: “Use advanced extractive technology to harvest all the fish from the man’s ocean,

The Olympic Spirit: Friendly Competition or Unsustainable Growth?

August 15, 2024/0 Comments/in Consumption, Economic Growth, Pollution, Steady State Herald, Sustainability, Wellbeing /by Alix Underwood

by Mark Cramer

Every four years, the Summer Olympics present a rare opportunity for friendly competition and collaboration among nations. The public has an opportunity to witness a myriad of sports that otherwise never make the headlines. Talented athletes get a rare chance to display their skills before an international audience.

The Olympics offer a venue for peaceful, international solidarity. Yet they also present a seemingly insurmountable ecological challenge. To begin with,

Rendering the Economic Fat for a Steady State Economy

June 27, 2024/8 Comments/in Economic Policy, Food and Agriculture, Steady State Economy, Steady State Herald, Wellbeing /by Gary Gardner

by Gary Gardner

Mention the steady state economy at a gathering of friends and a predictable concern is sure to arise. “I couldn’t possibly manage on a flat income, much less a reduced one. I can barely make ends meet now!” Heads will nod all around. The idea of a nongrowing economy—not to mention degrowth—quickly sours the party mood.

The objection is understandable from people long accustomed to ever-greater levels of consumption.