Social generativity: a relational paradigm for social change

The 2008 economic crisis called into question the sustainability of the individualistic consumer society as well as its structural and cultural premises. The long-term crisis requires, for its resolution, more than mere technical adjustments. In particular, it requires new equilibria balancing the various dimensions of social life, beyond the imaginary based just on quantitative growth and consumerism. The challenge is to look for a new prosperity, linking economics and society. As a contribution to this debate, “social generativity” – encompassing five years of interdisciplinary empirical research – offers a conceptual synthesis towards a distinctive model of self-realization, where creativity, empowerment and human flourishing may become the essential elements of transformative social change.