Reimagining Prosperity: “An Economy of Enough”

On Earth Day 2026, at Queen’s University Belfast, a timely and thought-provoking conversation unfolded around one of the most urgent questions of our age: *what is enough?*

At the event “An Economy of Enough”, Dr Lorna Gold invited participants to rethink the very foundations of our economic system. Drawing on ecological science, faith traditions, and lived experience, she challenged the assumption that more growth, more consumption, and more accumulation inevitably lead to a better life.

The event resonated strongly with those present, echoing wider conversations emerging across academic, faith, and sustainability networks. Participants reflected on the need to move beyond a model of endless growth toward one rooted in sufficiency, dignity, and care for our common home. The setting itself—within a university increasingly recognised for its commitment to sustainability—added weight to the call for new economic thinking grounded in real-world change.

Dr Gold’s address, shared below in full, explores the idea that the crises we face—ecological, social, and spiritual—are deeply interconnected. It suggests that the path forward is not simply technical or political, but cultural: a rediscovery of “enough” as a foundation for true human flourishing.

This is not a distant vision. As the event highlighted, signs of this “economy of enough” are already emerging in communities, movements, and everyday choices.

The question now is whether we are ready to recognise them—and to choose this path together.

The Economy of Enough_ Rethinking Prosperity in an Age of Limits