ABSTRACT
At this point, all the necessary components have been assembled for a framework of an evolutionary theory of welfare. Based on what has been discussed in the previous chapter, I can build a hedonistic theory of welfare, with the ‘learning theory of consumption’ (LTC) as the positive basis. While I do not specify well-being either in terms of the satisfaction of desires (or revealed preferences) or in terms of an objective list of needs, both these aspects play an important role for the theory. My aim is to make a convincing argument so that the position developed here has the potential to incorporate the important aspects of these different kinds of theories of welfare into one integrative framework. In that sense, this chapter can be understood as arguing that there is a grain of truth in all the standard theories of welfare thus far presented.
