What Is Affluence, Anyway?

I've been pondering this question a lot lately. It's funny, because in my field we focus quite a bit on poverty, and how to define poverty. And yet, I've never had any one of my professors try to define affluence.

Is affluence lots of money? Is it a lot of stuff? Is it an iPhone and a plasma screen TV?

I'm not sure, but I'm inclined to say no.

Instead, I think affluence is good health care, and education. I think affluence is high quality day care and public transit. I think affluence means being able to spend time with your friends and family. It means having neighborhood parks and recreation facilities. It means having a high standard of LIVING, as opposed to just having a high income.

There is a lot of debate as to whether economic growth is sustainable, about whether it is sustainable for everyone to live an affluent life like those in the Global North.

Now, I don't think that it is sustainable for everyone to own two cars. But I'll be damned if I'll let someone tell me we can't afford to give everyone in the world access to health care and to education. If it's not sustainable, we better make it sustainable.

But I think it is sustainable. And frankly, when we're living in a world with universal health care and education, I think that world will be a lot more affluent than the one we have now.

Even if fewer of us have cars and plasma screen TVs.