Goal of a society must be happiness
Richard Layard founder and former director of the centre for Economic performance at the London School of Economics, forget the GDP, we need to focus on trust, relationships and our mental health in nutshell it is about happiness, after looking across 3,096 USD counties that participated the 2016 US election, votes for Trump were better explained by average level of happiness in the county, than by unemployment, income or growth rate. Love of economy is root of all wisdom.
The goal for a society must be the greatest possible all round happiness, and shows how each of us can become more effective creators of happiness, both as citizens and in our own organisations.
Democrats should do best to concentrate on which candidate can make people happy rather than the details of the policy or tax, healthcare or foreign policy if they have prevent Trump being elected second time around.
Mr Layard look at the new science of happiness and how we can harness it to improve ourselves, our relationships an our societies.
We will require in several countries an overhaul of our relationship with children and partners, our city design and interactions with technology, work, time and money. Happiness may require meditation and and require less money than we think.
For every individual mental health, relationships and and quality of one’s work more important than wealth. At the country level social trust is more important and data in the book show that national levels of happiness tend to correlate with high levels of trust.
Poverty is a misery maker for societies and people. Once countries reach basic levels of development , economic growth does not make us happy connection to others and high levels of social trust do.
Fitness instructors are more happier then executives. Layard an expert on cognitive behavioural psychology and effective in boosting self-reported happiness.
The idea of happiness is not about material things but about co-operation, support and trust flies in the face of several neo-liberal economic prescriptions.
Rising inequality to institutionalised racism in Americas is highlighted with the prospect of Donald Trump being elected and re-elected.
Can We Be Happier? Evidence and Ethics by Richard Layard, Pelican £22/ $39.95, 416 pages.