Review: Surprisingly practical
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 4, 2011
This is no touchy-feely, we-ought-to-be-happier motivational speech. It's a hard look at how undervaluing human well-being and sustainability and instead focusing on economic growth have damaged our world, and more importantly what can be done about it. The proposal for a Happy Planet Index (HPI) to give societies a quantitative target to shoot for (and a yardstick against which to measure themselves) is being developed and partially implemented in several European countries, and the author describes the methodology and development of this alternative measure of a nation's well-being which may well compete with GDP as a key international indicator in coming years. In addition, author Nic Marks describes the discoveries of his nonprofit in promoting research-based solutions for individuals seeking greater happiness and for government initiatives to increase well-being and sustainability. I appreciated that there is a bibliography and list of relevant links at the end.I haven't watched the TED Talk (I assume it's almost identical to this work), but it's just the kind of thing TED is all about - an idea worth spreading.