You're listening to a special archive presentation of TED Talks Audio.

This talk features journalist Courtney E. Martin, recorded live at TED 2016.

I'm a journalist, so I like to look for the untold stories, the lives that quietly play out under the scream of headlines.

I've also been going under the scream of headlines.

I've also been going about the business of putting down roots,

choosing a partner, making babies.

So, for the last few years, I've been trying to understand what constitutes the 21st century good life,

both because I'm fascinated by the moral and philosophical implications,

but also because I'm in desperate need of answers myself. We live in tenuous times. In fact,

for the first time in American history, the majority of parents do not think that their kids will

be better off than they were.

This is true of rich and poor, men and women.

Now, some of you might hear this and feel sad.

After all, America is deeply invested in this idea of economic transcendence.

But every generation kind of leapfrogs the one before it,

earning more, buying more, being more.

We've exported this dream all over the world,

so kids in Brazil and China and even Kenya inherit our insatiable expectation for more.

But when I read this historic poll for the first time, didn't actually make me feel

sad. It felt like a provocation. Better off based on whose standards? Is better off finding a secure

job that you can count on for the rest of your life? Those are nearly extinct. People move jobs on average every 4.7 years.

And it's estimated that by 2020,

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