Tasc creating a flourishing society imo april 2014

“Creating a Flourishing Society: Tackling socio-economic determinants of health inequalities” Nat O’Connor, Director TASC Presentation to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) AGM, 25th April 2014 Scientific Session 1: Balancing a Strong Economy and an Equitable Society

[slide 1 – title] Thank you very much for the invitation to speak to you today. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to speak to you about TASC’s vision for a ‘flourishing society’. In doing so, I want to refer to another stream of TASC’s work – on health inequalities – and also to discuss the arguments for tackling economic inequality, which is the root cause of disparities in health outcomes. TASC is an independent, progressive think-tank. Our core focus is on economic inequality and democratic accountability. Unsurprisingly, I will therefore focus on socio-economic variables and how these contribute to both health inequalities and the possibility of achieving a more equal, flourishing society. (This echoes the analysis in the IMO’s own paper on ‘Balancing a Strong Economy and an Equal Society’). [slide 2 – section title] [slide 3] But what is ‘flourishing’? Or ‘human flourishing’ as it sometimes called. There are wide debates about personal wellbeing, life satisfaction, happiness and flourishing. Some of these debates focus on subjective, personal feelings; others focus on quality of life and more objective issues, including mental health. The debate ranges from positive psychology and ‘self-help’, to philosophical ideas, such as ancient Greek conceptions of the ‘good life’ as one lived well, involving purpose and moral action.

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