Toward Human-Centered Sustainability. Emotional, Relational, and Cultural Utility in Economic Behavior: Insights from Thailand

Contemporary sustainability debates increasingly recognize that ecological crises cannot be understood solely through assumptions of rational utility maximization and growth-centered development. Drawing on insights from behavioral economics, well-being research, and sustainability studies, the paper develops a broader conception of utility that incorporates emotional, relational, and cultural dimensions of human welfare. It makes three contributions. First, it proposes emotional utility, relational utility, and cultural utility as complementary dimensions of human welfare that help explain why well-being depends upon psychological stability, social relationships, and culturally meaningful forms of life. Second, it introduces the concept of behavioral sustainability, defined as the long-term reproduction of sustainable patterns of behavior through supportive social, emotional, cultural, and institutional conditions. Third, it illustrates the relevance of this framework through the case of Thailand, where concepts such as sabai-sabai, kreng jai, nam jai, and the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy reflect culturally grounded understandings of well-being that go beyond material accumulation. The analysis suggests that sustainability should be evaluated not only according to ecological outcomes and economic performance but also according to its capacity to support trust, belonging, resilience, and enduring quality of life. Sustainable development therefore requires conceptions of welfare that account for what people need to live well, not only what they consume.