Paolo, you often talk about the need to achieve prosperity without relying on continuous growth. What do you mean by that, and how can it be accomplished?

When I say we need to find a way to experience prosperity without growth, I’m really pointing out that the way we currently define success is fundamentally flawed. We’ve been conditioned to believe that for society to prosper, everything has to keep expanding—more money, more consumption, more production, always more. But this constant push for economic growth is taking a massive toll on both the planet and our well-being.

Think about it: the pursuit of endless growth means we’re always extracting, always consuming, always burning through resources as if there’s no limit. But there are limits, and we’re seeing the consequences everywhere—climate crises, biodiversity loss, growing inequalities, and the overwhelming mental strain of trying to keep up in this relentless system. At some point, we have to ask: is more really better, or is there another way to define prosperity?

Experiencing prosperity without growth means shifting from a focus on quantity to quality. Instead of measuring success by how fast our economy is growing, we start asking, “Are people’s lives actually getting better?” Are we happier, healthier, more connected to each other, and living in balance with the world around us? Prosperity, in this sense, is about depth and well-being. It’s about valuing the things that make life rich in a way that doesn’t come at the expense of future generations or the environment.

How do we do that? Well, it starts with rethinking what we value. Take work, for example. We’ve been stuck on this idea that productivity is about generating more revenue, producing more goods, constantly maximizing profit. But what if we measured productivity by the impact we’re making on our communities, by how much we’re improving quality of life? What if we focused on doing work that’s meaningful, sustainable, and regenerative, rather than just profitable? It’s about recognizing that sometimes, the best investments are in things like education, healthcare, community building, and environmental restoration.

And then there’s consumption. We live in a culture where we’re always being told to buy more, consume more, because that’s what drives economic growth. But has that really made us happier? Or are we just caught in a cycle where we’re constantly craving the next thing, never really satisfied? Experiencing prosperity without growth means slowing down, finding joy in experiences, relationships, creativity, and connection. It’s about asking ourselves: do we really need more stuff, or have we just forgotten how to be content with what we have?

A big part of this shift is also about embracing new economic models, like the circular economy. Imagine if everything we made was designed to be reused, repaired, or recycled, instead of ending up in a landfill. Instead of this “use it and toss it” mentality, we’d be thinking about how to create things that last and contribute to a cycle that sustains itself. It’s a more thoughtful, less wasteful way of living, and it actually creates a deeper sense of satisfaction.

And let’s not forget the idea of well-being metrics. We need to move beyond GDP as the only measure of a country’s success. Countries like Bhutan have experimented with ideas like Gross National Happiness, where they look at the overall well-being of the population, not just the economy’s size. Imagine if our governments prioritized making sure people were happy, healthy, and secure instead of just chasing economic numbers.

So, when I say we need to experience prosperity without growth, I’m talking about a fundamental mindset shift. It’s about slowing down, thinking deeply, and focusing on what really matters—our relationships, our health, our environment, and the joy of living a balanced life. It’s about moving away from this obsession with “more” and finding richness in what we already have, in ways that truly nourish us and our planet.