Securing Fairness and Wellbeing in a Land of Plenty 2005- Social Capital and Wellbeing

Social Capital and Wellbeing in Ireland Tom Healy

The future of Irish society is uncertain. We have emerged from a

period of extraordinarily rapid growth in measurable market income

(let’s be careful with our language and descriptions!). Before that we

had a period of extraordinary economic crisis characterised by high

unemployment, emigration, stagnant or falling incomes and continuing

poverty for many. 

Now we are at a crossroads. 

What sort of society do we want for the future – our future in what sort

of world? And what sort of economy, education system, community

development, governance do we want and need to realise the society

of the future? Through education and other means, are we to ‘meet the

needs of the economy’ or is ‘education’, the ‘economy’ and many other

things to meet the needs of real people in a society? These are tough

questions and involve a lot of thinking and a lot of hard work. They are

not necessarily the stuff of immediate response, marketable ideas and

measurable returns to investment.