The conditions for a thriving society

To build a thriving society, more people must have the knowledge, skills and opportunity to participate fully in society and the economy, for the good of one another, and in synergy with the environment.

Knowledge capital is widely and evenly distributed

A Thriving Society

People are able to use it well

Connectedness

For the good of one another and in synergy with their environments

Knowledge capital is the potential of an individual, community, organisation or nation to use knowledge effectively for personal or collective benefit to society. At a population level, it gives rise to healthier, wealthier and more productive societies.7 The deployment of this capital enables people to participate in an increasingly knowledge-based economy, moving beyond unskilled work into the semi-skilled and skilled domains of labour. However, these inputs not only build knowledge economies , but contribute to the development of knowledge democracies . 8 There is now a remarkable confluence of evidence that economic security is vital for happiness, health and social stability,9 and that the key to upward mobility is the full package of education, from preschool to college.10 Home (love, nutrition and cognitive stimulation) 11 and community (culture and connectedness) 12 shape the ability of people to use that knowledge capital, while social conflict and environmental degradation reduce societal resilience and undermine sustainable development.13

We have identified 10 opportunities to build a thriving society. They constitute some of the most profound twists to enable South Africa to escape the inequality trap.

These opportunities are embedded within three goals: