--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On the mathematical side, you could in…" description: "\"On the mathematical side, you could in principle build a society in which people were fulfilling their needs and flourishing as human beings in a highe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/tim-jackson-22847_beings_on-the-mathematical-side-you-could-in-pr_1336851.jpg" --- # On the mathematical side, you could in principle build a… ![“On the mathematical side, you could in principle build a society in which people were fulfilling their needs and flourishing as human beings in a higher way than in a consumer society, provided you had the right investments in the opportunity to flourish in less materialistic ways.” quote by Tim Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/tim-jackson-22847_beings_on-the-mathematical-side-you-could-in-pr_1336851.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/tim-jackson-22847_beings_on-the-mathematical-side-you-could-in-pr_1336851.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/tim-jackson-22847_beings_on-the-mathematical-side-you-could-in-pr_1336851.jpg) > “On the mathematical side, you could in principle build a society in which people were fulfilling their needs and flourishing as human beings in a higher way than in a consumer society, provided you had the right investments in the opportunity to flourish in less materialistic ways.” [Tim Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-jackson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A society could meet human needs and thrive through non‑materialistic opportunities if investments prioritize flourishing over consumption. **In simple terms:** People can thrive with less material focus if we invest right. Key Takeaway Invest in opportunities for non‑material flourishing. Themes sustainability human development economics Mood hopeful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban planning - education policy - community projects - personal lifestyle choices Key Concepts well‑being post‑growth social capital Questions to Reflect On - How can we measure flourishing beyond GDP? - What investments best foster non‑material growth? A Different Perspective Requires cultural shift and political will to re‑value non‑material success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings/) [Build](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/build/) [Build Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/build-society-566372/) [Consumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumer/) [Consumer Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumer-society-404449/) [Could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could/) [Flourish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flourish/) [Flourish Materialistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flourish-materialistic-4503296/) [Flourishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flourishing/) [Fulfilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fulfilling/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Investments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investments/) [Less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/less/) [Materialistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialistic/) [Mathematical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematical/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Needs Flourishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs-flourishing-4503297/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle/) [Provided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/provided/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) [Side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/side/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ways/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [America always put forth this phony melting pot theory, but it's a reality now. 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But when I think of consumer society, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/look-i-can-surely-say-by-now-that-i-ve-got-the-antibodies-to/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [We cannot go beyond the consumer society unless we first understand that obligatory public schools inevitably reproduce such a society, no matter what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/we-cannot-go-beyond-the-consumer-society-unless-we-first-understand/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [The model of the consumer society is something that will one day end. 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I think there's developed a legacy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jackson/the-history-of-jazz-for-the-last-45-years-has-come-through-the/) [Tim Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-jackson/) > [In short, avoiding the scourge of unemployment may have less to do with chasing after growth and more to do with building an economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jackson/in-short-avoiding-the-scourge-of-unemployment-may-have-less-to-do/) [Tim Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-jackson/) > [The default assumption is that - financial crises aside - growth will continue indefinitely. Not just for the poorest countries, where a better quality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jackson/the-default-assumption-is-that-financial-crises-aside-growth-will/) [Tim Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-jackson/) > [Questioning growth is deemed to be the act of lunatics, idealists and revolutionaries. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jackson/the-care-and-concern-of-one-human-being-for-another-is-a-peculiar/) [Tim Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-jackson/) [Explore all 27 Tim Jackson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-jackson/) ## More Beings quotes > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. 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Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) [Browse all 979 Beings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "On the mathematical side, you could in principle build a society in which people were fulfilling their needs and flourishing as human beings in a higher way than in a consumer society, provided you had the right investments in the opportunity to flourish in less materialistic ways.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tim Jackson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jackson/on-the-mathematical-side-you-could-in-principle-build-a-society-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jackson/on-the-mathematical-side-you-could-in-principle-build-a-society-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/tim-jackson-22847_beings_on-the-mathematical-side-you-could-in-pr_1336851.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/tim-jackson-22847_beings_on-the-mathematical-side-you-could-in-pr_1336851.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/tim-jackson-22847_beings_on-the-mathematical-side-you-could-in-pr_1336851.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“On the mathematical side, you could in principle build a society in which people were fulfilling their needs…” — Tim Jackson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tim Jackson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-jackson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "On the mathematical side, you could...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jackson/on-the-mathematical-side-you-could-in-principle-build-a-society-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-jackson/on-the-mathematical-side-you-could-in-principle-build-a-society-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```