Happiness by Richard Layard

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About Richard Layard

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Happiness

Lessons from a New Science (Second Edition)

» Richard Layard

Penguin
Paperback : 06 Apr 2006

£9.99

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Synopsis

In this landmark book, Richard Layard shows that there is a paradox at the heart of our lives. Most people want more income. Yet as societies become richer, they do not become happier. This is not just anecdotally true, it is the story told by countless pieces of scientific research. We now have sophisticated ways of measuring how happy people are, and all the evidence shows that on average people have grown no happier in the last fifty years, even as average incomes have more than doubled. In fact, the First World has more depression, more alcoholism and more crime than fifty years ago. This paradox is true of Britain, the United States, continental Europe, and Japan. What is going on?

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Critic Review:

'Unorthodox, devastatingly straightforward and more provocative of actual thought than 90% of books said to be "thought-provoking". If happiness isn't a political issue, what's the point of politics?'
Andrew Marr

'a remarkable book...which effectively trashes the claim of economics to guide policy for a good society...read it, and take heart'
Simon Caulkin, Observer

'Fascinating...argues that we should make happiness, not growth, the object of our economic policies'
John Kay, Financial Times

'passionate and lucid'
Independent

'Sane, decent, practical and formidably well-informed, just reading this book makes you feel better. "If you only read one book this year", as reviewers sometimes say, don't waste your time on some futile novel - read this.'
Observer