This is not directly replying to you, but something you said made me think: > so long as you measure wealth by the value and owner-/consumer-perceived quality

This is not directly replying to you, but something you said made me think: > so long as you measure wealth by the value and owner-/consumer-perceived quality of what is owned and consumed What about things that aren't really owned or consumed? Clean air/water, forests. Do they factor into this function somehow? If not, I have difficulty trusting any suggestions based on that definition of "wealth". And just in general, I'd much rather optimise for happiness than wealth. But it's much harder to quantify, so I guess that's why people don't.