Seminar on Reimagining Prosperity in the 21st Century

On 2 February 2026, the EW Barker Centre for Law & Business, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore hosted a stimulating academic seminar on “Reimagining Prosperity in the 21st Century”. It was delivered by Professor Marija Bartl, Professor of Transnational Private Law at the Amsterdam Law School, University of Amsterdam. The event brought together faculty members, practitioners, researchers, and academics for a rich exchange on the future of prosperity, democracy, and political economy. The session was moderated by Professor Ernest Lim.

Professor Bartl’s presentation was based on her recently published book, Reimagining Prosperity: Toward a New Imaginary of Law and Political Economy in the EU (Cambridge University Press, 2024). She examined why dominant economic models in Europe are increasingly unable to sustain democratic legitimacy and social cohesion, and highlighted the central role of law in shaping economic imaginaries.

At the core of the discussion was the argument that Western democracies are facing a deep crisis of confidence linked to the erosion of shared expectations about a better future. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, neoliberal pathways to prosperity, centred on deregulation, marketisation, and competitiveness, have failed to deliver broadly shared material and social security. Despite rising aggregate wealth, societies continue to struggle to provide basic goods such as housing, care, education, and stable employment, particularly for younger generations.

Professor Bartl emphasised that democracies depend on a credible, shared imaginary of prosperity, one that moves beyond consumerism and GDP growth to focus on access to essential goods, social stability, and a liveable future. When such imaginaries lose credibility, they risk being replaced by identitarian politics rooted in exclusion and fear, thereby weakening trust in institutions.

The seminar also examined the European Union’s evolving role, with critical reflections on both the European Green Deal and the recent policy turn toward competitiveness. The discussion concluded by stressing the need to rebalance economic governance in favour of genuinely shared prosperity and was complemented by a highly engaging and lively Q&A session.