Abundance Doesn’t Deliver Meaning

Material plenty and successful institutional reforms can leave people spiritually or psychologically unfulfilled; historical cases (John Stuart Mill) and contemporary anxieties about technology and prosperity show that policy success doesn't guarantee purpose. The argument calls for attention to non-material goods—ritual, narrative, belonging—in public policy and cultural debate. — If true, policy and tech debates that focus mainly on increasing material abundance will miss core drivers of social cohesion and mental health, shifting where governments and institutions should invest.