'Desirability of sustainable happiness as a guide for public policy.'

Suppose a society is wealthy and treats its members justly. Can we be sure this
is a good society? Not necessarily. Among other things, these virtues do not
guarantee the happiness of its citizens. Nor that the society is just in its dealings
with those outside its borders, or those not yet born. Its people may, for
instance, be lonely. They might pass their lives surrounded by ugliness, largely
disconnected from either natural or even human-made beauty. Their work
might be tedious, unrewarding, and stressful. They might be too rushed to
enjoy life, or to share very much of it with each other. Perhaps they are too
preoccupied with their own pursuits to enjoy the fulfillments of serving others.
And they might secure their lavish unhappiness at great cost to their
descendants, to their neighbours elsewhere on the globe, and to the rest of life
on earth. To be treated justly, and to have some measure of material wealth, are
both important. But they do not suffice to make a good society.