Wellbeing Discourses in an Environment of “Unsustainable Development”: Bridging the Past and the Future

Recent developments in expert discourse regarding transformations of the welfare state and its future are discussed. The research field embraces international organizations’ visions and national strategic program documents of members of the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership (New Zealand, Scotland, Iceland, Wales, and Finland), international rankings data, expert discussion papers, and research literature. The wellbeing economy model—the key focus in this discussion—is part of the sustainable development framework, and its advocates and supporters seek to contribute to the mainstream discourse on development. These models are now facing severe systemic limitations, due to emerging challenges in the context of resource scarcity and growing international and political tensions. Promoting universal models appears to be an unsustainable challenge; in an international environment of “unsustainable development,” a reference framework for development relies on a diversity of approaches to progress in wellbeing and on principles encompassing a dialogue culture and on responsible commitment.