Should happiness be a goal for society?

Yes! Richard Layard, one of Britain’s foremost economists, puts forward this view in his new book “Happiness: lessons from a new science.” A major goal of society should be to maximize happiness and the economy should be structured toward this end.

Maximizing economic output has often been accomplished at the expense of happiness. Current economic policies are counter-productive to the extent that increasing output is accomplished by:

• increasing social mobility (which tends to weaken families and close social ties and increase crime);
• increasing status seeking;
• and ignoring the major causes of happiness: family relationships; financial situation; work; community and friends; and health.

Layard points out that mental illness is common and one of the major causes of unhappiness in the world today. Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, disproportionately low spending is dedicated toward the treatment of mental health problems.