Reshaping the Public Policy: Well-being as a Driver to the Development Narrative
DOI | 10.1177/00195561221083797 |
Date | 01 June 2022 |
Author | M.H. Khan |
Published date | 01 June 2022 |
Reshaping the Public
Policy: Well-being
as a Driver to the
Development
Narrative
M.H. Khan1
Background
Encouraged by the concurrent expansion of free-market economics in govern-
ment policies, the dominant mantra for living a successful and prosperous life has
become equated with consumerism. As opposed to such narratives, it is the asso-
ciations with our families, companions and social networks, along with our well-
being, that make a difference to individuals and our feeling of thriving. A signi-
cant misalignment between the objectives of our economic model and what is
important to individuals is by all accounts inuencing everything (Black et al.,
2015).
Society is swayed by individuals’ aspirations. As per an old saying ‘keeping up
with the Joneses’, there is a strong motivation to maintain a material lifestyle
comparable to those around us. A vicious cycle of aspirations-induced consump-
tion, peer-pressure issues (heightened by inequality) combined with ambitions
leading to working beyond one’s capacity, have eventually prompted psychologi-
cal and physical fatigue and stress (Roach et al., 2019). There is a saying that
‘necessity is the mother of invention’; however, the surge in consumerism juxta-
posed with the societal pressure has also been rephrased this saying into ‘inven-
tion is the mother of necessity’. Any product or service can be psycho-induced
into the society to make it indispensable and an addiction. The socio-economic
structures are deeply interrelated with the pattern of economic growth and con-
sumerism (Carlson, 1999). This highlights a need for a paradigm shift in the
assessment of the progress of society, from GDP basis to its wellbeing and happi-
ness, employing a well-crafted public policy.
The time has come to understand whether it is the sole counting of the dollars
that dene how much a country is prosperous, happy, satised, healthy, contended
Note
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
68(2) 299–303, 2022
© 2022 IIPA
Reprints and permissions:
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DOI: 10.1177/00195561221083797
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1 Indian Navy, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi, India.
Corresponding author:
M.H. Khan, Integrated Financial Advisor, Indian Navy, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi 110011, India.
E-mail: mhkhan.idas@gmail.com
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