Are we living the good life—and what defines ‘good,’ anyway? Americans today are constructing a completely different framework for success than their parents’ generation, using new metrics that TED speaker and On Being columnist Courtney Martin has termed collectively the “New Better Off.”
The New Better Off puts a name to the growing American phenomenon of rejecting the traditional dream of a 9-to-5 job, home ownership, and a nuclear family structure—and illuminates the alternate ways Americans are seeking happiness and fulfillment. And the stats back up Martin’s claims:
- 35% of Millennials don’t identify with any religion
- It’s estimated that by 2020, half of all American workers will be freelance
- Home ownership is at the lowest rates since 1995 for all Americans and lowest on record for those under 35
From how we view work, to customs and community, marriage, money, living arrangements, and spirituality, The New Better Off uses personal stories and social analysis to explore the trends shaping our country today. Martin highlights how people are realizing that there is safety and joy in numbers–whether that’s in a co-working space, a shared house, or a men’s group. They’re also realizing that our most precious resource isn’t money, but time. They’re asking, “How much money is enough money?” The New Better Off presents a fresh take on trendy topics from collaborative consumption, communal living, to the breaking down of gender roles.
For those already beginning to implement the New Better Off lifestyle, those who aspire to, and those who are perplexed by the young and courageous Americans they see breaking free from the traditional rules of the American Dream, The New Better Off is about the creative choices individuals are making in their vocational and personal lives, and it’s also about the movements that are coalescing around the New Better Off idea.
Published September 2016.