Anxiety as the basis for the economy

I'm exploring the topics of prosperity without growth as the basis for my career course. The fundamental questions to ask are these: what is a better metric of prosperity that can satisfy the needs of humanity while actually consuming nearly no resources? Can we decouple prosperity from resource consumption?

So what are the fundamental needs of humanity?

In a word, it is to satisfy our innate anxiety. This anxiety kept us alive (and keeps us alive today), but it also causes us to constantly seek out new experiences; to seek out new things to do, see, eat, and otherwise consume. If we could adapt new products to help satisfy mankind's anxiety without consuming resources, we could achieve a sustainable future.

I point folks to this podcast from “Big Ideas” by Professor Tim Jackson entitled, “Prosperity without Growth”.