Can We Be Happier?

Most people now realize that economic growth, however desirable, will not solve all our problems. Instead, we need a philosophy and a science which encompasses a much fuller range of human need and experience. This book argues that 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 organizations. Written with Richard Layard's characteristic clarity, it provides hard evidence that increasing happiness is the right aim, and that it can be achieved. Its language is simple, its evidence impressive, its effect inspiring.

"Impressive . . . An excellent job of recounting the collective findings of much of this new science." —Wall Street Journal on Happiness

"His lively new book . . . will not make conventional economists happy, but it should cause all of us to reflect more deeply on what really makes life worth living." —Robert D. Putnam, author, Bowling Alone, on Happiness

"Layard and Clark (the Dream Team of British Social Science) make a compelling case for a massive injection of resources into the treatment and prevention of mental illness. This is simply the best book on public policy and mental health ever written." ―Martin Seligman, author, Flourish, on Thrive

"Extremely easy and pleasurable to read. It's the most comprehensive, humane and generous study of mental illness that I've come across." ―Melvyn Bragg, author, The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language on Thrive

"This book is an inspiring success story and a stirring call to further action. Its message is as compelling as it is important: the social costs of mental illness are terribly high and the costs of effective treatments are surprisingly low." ―Daniel Kahneman, author, Thinking, Fast and Slow, on Thrive

"With scientific research and moral justifications to back his claims, Layard provides sound reasoning and loud cheerleading for living a life of service." — Publishers Weekly

Richard Layard is founder and former director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. He is the author of the ground-breaking Happiness: Lessons from a NewScience (2005), which has been published in nineteen languages, and (with David Clarke) Thrive: The Power of Psychological Therapies (2014). He is co-editor (with John Helliwell and Jeffrey Sachs) of the annual World Happiness Report, and has been instrumental in the development of improving access to psychological therapies in the UK.