art of the good life : culture and sustainable prosperity

The creative economy has seen cultural policy swallowed up by a narrow vision of economic growth, its impacts on the urban fabric captured by property developers, and its promises of meaningful activity challenged by the exploitation and inequities of cultural labour markets. So it needs to be abandoned and re-thought, but on what basis? This paper analyses the potential for cultural work to encourage alternative visions of the “good life”, in particular, how it might encourage “sustainable prosperity” wherein human flourishing is not linked to high levels of material consumption but rather to the capabilities to engage with cultural and creative practices and communities. It critically explores these ideas in three locations: a London borough, a de-industrialised city in England’s midlands and a rural town on the Wales and England border. Across these diverse landscapes and socio-economic contexts, different versions of the good life can be observed and the possibilities and constraints of cultural activity as a way of achieving sustainable prosperity.