Quality of Life: Reflections and Debates around a Concept

Abstract

This essay intends to be a reflection on the concept of quality of life, aiming first to situate the socio-political context of development of the quality of life theme, in order to highlight debates around it, their emergence, across the discussion about this problem. Thus, we present the fundamental divide between the "objective" and "subjective", with pro and con arguments  to conclude that there is now almost a consensual need to overcome this dichotomy. Another of the debates referred to here is a conceptualization of the problematic of the quality of life from a "theory of needs" or a "theory of resources" emphasizing the consequences, both analytically and methodologically, of either option. Finally, this essay concludes by referring the current context of re-emergence of the problematic in question, which introduces the discussion on the current research on quality of life in the context of monitoring programmes strictly linked to public policies: trafficking quality of life of individuals or societies?