The ethics of enough

Enough is more than subsistence but is related to the ecological limits of the earth, our demands on them, and the other resources we need to live sustainable and meaningful lives. Ethics has a cultural and temporal context. In the West there has been the tussle between rational and moral ethics. The former prevailed as the benefits of science and technology emerged. Rational ethics is utilitarian, anthropocentric, and unsustainable. Moral ethics is struggling to replace its former “other worldly” and religious cloak with, at least, an ecocentric and spiritual cloak. The ethics of enough is explored in terms of needs and wants, right and wrong desires, means and ends, and, finally, moral virtue and happiness. Moral virtue alone, though, is unlikely to lead to happiness. Good fortune is also required, but cannot be acquired on one’s own. It has to be bestowed, by society or a just government, which in turn has to be created by the participation and actions of its members or citizens. Both enough and the ethics are to be found in good fortune.