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In The Progress Paradox, Gregg Easterbrook
draws upon three decades of wide-ranging research and thinking
to make the persuasive assertion that almost all aspects
of Western life have vastly improved in the past century
-- and yet today, most men and women feel less happy than
in previous generations. Why this is so and what we should
do about it is the subject of this book.
Between contemporary emphasis on grievances
and the fears engendered by 9/11, today it is common to
hear it said that life has started downhill, or that our
parents had it better. But objectively, almost everyone
in today's United States or European Union lives better
than his or her parents did.
Still, studies show that the percentage
of the population that is happy has not increased in fifty
years, while depression and stress have become ever more
prevalent. The Progress Paradox explores why ever-higher
living standards don't seem to make us any happier. Detailing
the emerging science of "positive psychology,"
which seeks to understand what causes a person's sense of
well-being, Easterbrook offers an alternative to our culture
of crisis and complaint. He makes a compelling case that
optimism, gratitude, and acts of forgiveness not only make
modern life more fulfilling but are actually in our self-interest.
Seemingly insoluble problems of the past,
such as crime in New York City and smog in Los Angeles,
have proved more tractable than they were thought to be.
Likewise, today's "impossible" problems, such
as global warming and Islamic terrorism, can be tackled
too.
Like The Tipping Point, this book
offers an affirming and constructive way of seeing the world
anew. The Progress Paradox will change the way you
think about your place in the world, and about our collective
ability to make it better.
Gregg Easterbrook is a senior editor
of The New Republic, a contributing editor of The Atlantic
Monthly, a visiting fellow in economics at the Brookings
Institution, and a columnist for ESPN.com. He is the author
of six books, including A Moment on the Earth, a
New York Times and American Library Association Notable
Book. He has also been a contributing editor at Newsweek
and an editor of The Washington Monthly. He lives
in Maryland and can be reached via the Internet at www.greggeasterbrook.com.
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