Wealth and Sustainabilility Questions, Economics 309:

I asked the students in Economics 309, "The Economics of a Sustainable Society," to answer six questions [What is the contemporary meaning of wealth, what is the meaning of wealth in a more sustainable society, can we define wealth in a way that is broadly consistent with the first two questions, what needs to be sustained in a sustainable society, what is the proper way of accounting for the well-being of future generations in the way we make decisions today, and how do we measure economic success in a sustainable society?]. I asked for students to provide their own assessments, and not those that they thought I was looking for. No grade was assigned. -Prof. Steve Hackett, 15 Feb. '99.

1. What is the contemporary meaning of wealth?

2. What is the meaning of wealth in a more sustainable society?

3. Can we define wealth in a way that is broadly consistent with the first two questions?

4. What needs to be sustained in a sustainable society?

5. What is the proper way of accounting for the well-being of future generations in the way we make decisions today?

6. How do we measure economic success in a sustainable society?