Derek Bok asks the right question, 'What policies would produce the greatest happiness?' and he gives great and often startling answers, combining his deep knowledge of politics with the new findings of happiness research.

Kindness is like mercy: it blesses him that gives and him that takes.

No society can work unless its members feel responsibilities as well as rights.

People who achieve a sense of meaning in their lives are happier than those who live from one pleasure to another.

There is a paradox at the heart of our lives. Most people want more income and strive for it. Yet as Western societies have got richer, their people have become no happier.

Competition for status is a zero sum game

Derek Bok asks the right question, 'What policies would produce the greatest happiness?' and he gives great and often startling answers, combining his deep knowledge of politics with the new findings of happiness research.