Increasingly uncomfortable living in a material world

Optimism about quality of life has slumped among Australians. ...In other words, we are seeing a profound loss of faith in a future constructed around notions of material progress, economic growth and scientific and technological fixes to the challenges we face. We no longer believe in the "official story" of the future on which our governments base their policies. Environmentalists and scientists have won the minds of the public. Now they need to win our hearts, to give us the courage to act on our convictions. Richard Eckersley is at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the ANU, and is the author of Well & Good: Morality, Meaning and Happiness (Text, 2005). SMH