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Happiness
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Happiness

Lessons from a New Science

Richard Layard
Penguin, 2005
First Edition: 2005
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8

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Recommendation

In the past, economists could not measure factors intrinsic to human nature, so they conveniently left concepts like happiness out of their calculations; thus they compare the wealth of nations using measures such as the gross national product. But what if, following the example of the tiny Asian country of Bhutan, nations began instead to try to increase their "gross national happiness"? How would they do it? Economist Richard Layard attempts to answer these questions by applying lessons from the relatively new field of "positive psychology" to human social systems. Although some readers may dismiss his viewpoint as touchy-feely, it is based on science. He finds, for instance, that if politicians truly wish to create happy societies, they will have to aim at something greater than ever-expanding marketplaces. This readable discussion of the "new science" of happiness draws some provocative conclusions. getAbstract recommends it to those who are interested in self-development and to public policy experts looking for a new approach.

Summary

"The Greatest Happiness Principle"

Englishman Jeremy Bentham was the first philosopher to posit a pragmatic "greatest happiness principle." He said that the greatest civilization has the happiest citizenry and, therefore, policies that increase the happiness of the largest number of people are the best ones to follow. However, until recently, little was known about human happiness, and governments stopped using Bentham’s happiness principle as a guideline.

Instead, individualism reframed the conversation about happiness, especially in the West, where people believed that a rich society is a happy society and, therefore, market statistics could measure whether or not people were happy. But human nature doesn’t fit easily into an economic formula; in fact, some elements of human happiness have nothing to do with economic success. As high achievers often find, putting yourself first doesn’t do much for your overall happiness. On the contrary, deep satisfaction comes from a sense of contributing to the "common good."

The Elements of Happiness

Though your inner feelings change many times during the course of a day, everyone has a baseline level of happiness...

About the Author

House of Lords member and British economist Richard Layard has written several textbooks and is founder of a research facility devoted to economics within the London School of Economics. He worked as a consultant in government between 1997 and 2000.

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