Society today faces a difficult contradiction: we know exactly how the physical limits of our planet are being reached and exactly why we cannot go on as we have before - and yet, collectively, we seem unable to reach crucial decisions for our future in a timely way. This book argues that our definition of prosperity, which we have long assimilated with the idea of material wealth, may be preventing us from imagining a future that meets essential human aspirations without straining our planet to the breaking point. In other words, redefining prosperity is a necessary and urgent task. This...

L'expression Etat social actif a fait son apparition dans le langage politique et journalistique belge a la fin des annees 1990. Son usage s'est rapidement diffuse et banalise, gagnant les grands medias. Le concept a donne lieu a des debats passionnes, laissant toutefois en suspens un certain nombre de questions: est-on confronte a une operation cosmetique destinee a habiller de neuf d'anciens instruments, institutions ou techniques ? Ou s'agit-il plutot d'une reelle revolution des politiques sociales ? Dans cette derniere hypothese, les changements se produisent-ils dans le respect des...

Society today faces a difficult contradiction: we know exactly how the physical limits of our planet are being reached and exactly why we cannot go on as we have before - and yet, collectively, we seem unable to reach crucial decisions for our future in a timely way. This book argues that our definition of prosperity, which we have long assimilated with the idea of material wealth, may be preventing us from imagining a future that meets essential human aspirations without straining our planet to the breaking point. In other words, redefining prosperity is a necessary and urgent task.

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