“Freedom from Want”: A Critical Reflection in the Face of the Anthropocene

ABSTRACT

The 2022 Special Report on Human Security “calls for greater solidarity across borders and a new approach to development; one that allows people to live free from want, fear, anxiety and indignity”. This paper analyses the notion of “freedom from want” and argues that human “want”, understood from one cultural perspective/worldview, has created the market society with its GDP growth narrative. Such “want” could become the very reason for perceived insecurity, anxiety and indignity, if the “want” is not only to meet the basic human needs, but rather to meet desires artificially fuelled by a market society with its increasingly sophisticated tools, such as digital technology which implicitly manipulate our “wants” and rationalise them within the GDP-growth narrative. This paper proposes a policy shift from focusing on GDP growth to a new paradigm of human flourishment which allows for a “good life” for all (wo)mankind by capitalising on the concept of relational wellbeing. Relational wellbeing advocates for deep connections between humans, and between humans and nature, thereby achieving a greater global solidarity between people and a new mindset towards nature. The next generation of human security shall go beyond the aim of making people secure, and rather focus on how to enable humanity to flourish.

KEYWORDS:

• Anthropocene
• Freedom from want
• Beyond GDP
• Relational wellbeing
• Indigenous knowledge
• Human security

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kehinde Balogun

Kehinde Balogun is a Senior Researcher at the United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS). She coordinates the Wellbeing, innovation, Sustainability and Equity (WiSE) Transformation Initiative at UNU-EHS. Kehinde Balogun has a Business and Disaster Management background, with expertise ranging from Integrated Risk Management and Climate Insurance to Non-Economic Loss and Damage (NELD). She is a member of the Loss and Damage Collaboration and the Gender and Disaster Network.

Kariuki Weru

Mr. Kariuki Weru is a research assistant in the United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), researching topics ranging from Equity, Mental Health and Climate Change. Given the intersectionality of his research interests, Mr. Weru tries to advocate for an approach that enables the Wellbeing of People and the Planet in a state of symbiosis.

Xiaomeng Shen

Prof. Xiaomeng Shen is the Director of the United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and concurrently is the Vice-Rector of UNU in Europe. As the chief academic and administrative officer she leads the institute’s research agenda and links the research of UNU to key policy processes. Prof. Shen is an honorary professor for Culture of Sustainability at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, and serves on the management group of the World Adaptation Science Programme, which is hosted by UNEP.