Book Description
Why in prosperous market democracies today do so many people regard themselves as unhappy? Robert E. Lane draws on extensive research in many fields to show that the main sources of well-being in advanced economies are friendships and a good family life; income has little to do with happiness once a person rises above the poverty level. Lane urges us to alter priorities and emphasize companionship over higher income.
Customer Reviews:
Happiness, not good enough as a goal?.......2006-08-19
This book is probably the most complete Western book about happiness. Robert Lane recommends that to the goal of happiness should be added the goals of justice and personal development. He uses "happiness" with the meaning of "satisfaction with life", or with "Subjective Well Being" (SWB). The difference being that happiness is a fleeting emotion and satisfaction with life a more profound view.
He accuses economists of wanting to maximise one dimension only like "the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people" (Jeremy Bentham), or maximise increases in GDP per person. The belief of many people in prosperous countries is that Increasing GDP per person will lead to increases in happiness. Prof Lane refers to this belief as the "Economistic Fallacy" which he considers a major threat to the future of the USA. He proves conclusively that in the USA and other prosperous countries, increases in GDP per person do not lead to increases in happiness. He points out that governments focus too exclusively on increasing GDP. Governments should in all their policies ask themselves if their policies contribute to the three goals of happiness, justice and personal development.
The title of the book can create the mistaken impression that Professor Lane is against a free market and democracy. His main point is that the market and democracy on their own do not lead automatically to increased happiness and that the three goals should also be considered by governments when attempting to make the free market and democracy function satisfactorily. He points out that happiness is dependent on what he refers to a "companionship" (that is friends) and a good family life. At no point does he suggest that the free market and democracy can be replaced by better systems.
He refers to the need to make trade offs between wealth on the one hand and, companionship and family life on the other. "Trade offs" is a concept economists like. My preference is to figure out how these three interdependent concepts can reinforce each other. That is, not seeing it as a zero sum game but as a win-win situation. This is not to deny that fathers and mothers that work so much that they spend hardly any time with their children do not have the right balance.
Similar ideas to those of Prof. Lane have been presented in other interesting books by economists in "Happiness and Economics"- "How the economy and institutions affect human well-being" by Frey and Stutzer and in "Development as Freedom" by Amartya Sen (see my reviews). There is also a vast Buddhist literature about happiness as a vital aspect of the science of the mind. See for example "The Universe in a Single Atom" by the Dalai Lama (see my review).
The importance of the book by Prof Lane is that he is a prominent political scientist, as shown by the fact that he was President of the American Political Science Organisation and also President of the International Society of Political Psychology. His book refers to and evaluates a very large number of scientific studies in the two fields of political science and political psychology and the book is also in that respect invaluable.
Modestly topples most of conventional economics.......2006-04-30
Have you noticed that in spite of great increases in wealth and improvements in technology in the last few decades, people don't seem to be any happier today than they used to be? Lane tackles this question head on, and finds some interesting answers. This book modestly blows most of today's conventional economics right out of the water.
Conventional economic wisdom is that increased GDP will solve all problems and make everyone's life better. Lane shows this isn't so. For the very poor, increased per capita GDP does indeed make people happier. Once the necessities of life are satisfied, higher GDP has little or no effect on how content people are with their lives. When you consider the lengths to which governments go to increase their GDP by a few percentage points, you begin to understand how important this finding is.
In the developed countries, Lane shows that people's overall satisfaction with their lives has been declining steadily in recent years. Lane finds that a decline in companionship and family life and an increase in television viewing are important factors in this. People are often not very good judges of what life choices will really make their lives better and happier. It is easy to fall into a trap of trying to get more money, while sacrificing the time it takes to maintain relationships with friends and family.
Some great quotes from the book:
". . . relieving poverty without creating dependency has proved difficult where it has been seriously tried."
"Consequently, it is possible to want to spend more than one earns--a sure prescription for misery, as Micawber once explained to David Copperfield."
". . . that magnificent apparatus of economic analysis might be turned to the purpose of improving well-being."
Lane does miss some things. I suspect that in the U.S. at least, part of the reason for the decline in happiness relates to the fact that people move around so much, which makes keeping up regular contact with relatives and friends difficult. The tendency for more people to attend college, and to go to colleges hundreds of miles away from their families, contributes to this rootless trend. I tend to think that Americans work more hours, and are encouraged to carry more debt, than is really good for society. I also suspect that the spread-out design of American cities, and the resulting huge time costs of commuting, play a role. For more on this, see Kunstler's book "The Geography of Nowhere."
As to the book itself, the writing is rather stodgy and academic. Lane hammers on the details of what studies show about life satisfaction and happiness, what the flaws of the various studies are, how the questions were asked, which results are the most robust. Lane is not trying to write an exciting book, he's trying to prove his points beyond doubt. I think he succeeds in that.
Lane sometimes seems to be asking more questions than he answers. There are enough possible topics for further research presented here to keep an army of graduate students busy. Unlike most economists and political scientists working today, though, I think Lane is asking the right questions. What kind of future do we really want? One in which everyone works 70-hour weeks, makes lots of money, and lives miserable and alone in a huge house? Or maybe we can come up with something better? Given the ecological pressures caused by the current lifestyles in the developed countries, rethinking this may be a matter of the survival of our civilization.
A good start to a big question.......2003-07-04
I agree with the previous reviewer that this book doesn't have all the answers, and that Lane often spends too much time pressing the same points. That said, Lane supports his conclusions well, and presents his central message clearly. For someone without much philosophy background (i.e. me), Lane's discussion of the trinity of ultimate goods was valuable and instructive. To recently graduated students: this is book is a great reason to use your alumni library privleges.
Loss of Happiness in Market Democracies.......2000-12-08
Mr. Lane attempts to tackle a serious issue of great importance to modern capitalist democracies. Certainly after long days we all wonder if the drudgery of capitalist lifestyles is worth the rewards. However, the book suffers from many analytical flaws. It attempts to find casual mechanisms resulting in unhappiness, but fails to adequately untangle the many sources of unhappiness and several times places emphasis on clearly the wrong one. The book is also extremely redundant, and could have been condensed to half its size. Lastly, many of the studies cited needed more justification and explanation. The results of the studies certainly are an adequate factual foundation to justify the facade he attempts to build. It certainly is a beginning to a discourse on a serious question, but this book does not have the answers.
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Market democracies. (book review): An article from: Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory
John E. Brandl
Manufacturer: University of Kansas
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This digital document is an article from Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, published by University of Kansas on July 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1431 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Market democracies. (book review)
Author: John E. Brandl
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Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (Refereed)
Date: July 1, 2002
Publisher: University of Kansas
Volume: 12
Issue: 3
Page: 460(4)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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- The Essential Textbook on Organizational Behavior
- Great introduction to organizational behavior.
- Very Excellent Book
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Organizational Behavior: Concepts, Controversies, Applications (8th Edition)
Stephen P. Robbins
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Customer Reviews:
Good book.......2000-03-09
simple, down-to-earth, and realistic. what i liked most about this book is the management application summaries in each chapters. however, i do sometimes get the feel in several chapters that the treatment of the topics are more encyclopedic. the book cover and some graphics are mediocre.
Excellent textbook even for professionals!.......1999-09-08
I have read many books regarding organizational behavior, and this is by far the best! I work as a management consultant specializing in organizational behavior change in Japan, and this book gives me hundreds of useful ideas. Actually "The Essentials of Organizational Behavior" by Dr. Robbins is translated into Japanese language, which is also a great book. "Organizational Behavior", however, is even better. Japanese translation wanted!
The Essential Textbook on Organizational Behavior.......1999-06-18
I have been an intensive reader of Professor Robbins' books since I was a grad student. What I recommend most out of his books is this "Organizational Behavior". Its comprehensive, albeit detailed and reader-friendly contents (e.g., lists of WWW URLs in each chaper to facilitate readers' in-depth learning) has always inspired me. Now, as an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior, I am fully convinced of the fact that my students always thank me for adopting this book as the text of my course. I hope every substantial reader will find the significant usefulness of this book, the essential text.
Great introduction to organizational behavior........1999-05-18
The text was used for a graduate level class in the MBA Program at Oklahoma City University. As such, it is easy to see that it is an important tool to aid in understanding management of people in the American work place.
I do however have one criticism. The text does not do a good job at distinguishing between managing and leading. In my opinion, they are two different titles for those who take the reigns of an organiation.
Very Excellent Book.......1999-03-19
I'd like very much this book, cause in there I can found my needs. This book very help my in my university where I can study more in my program, Hotel Management.
Customer Reviews:
Good OB text........2005-05-04
I Used this book for the Organizational Theory and Behavior class at Columbia Southern University. Easy to read through, and more valuable information in this book than in my last 6 management texts put together. I haven't read any other OB texts though, so I don't know how this one compares with others.
Overall great book covering all the concepts............2005-03-15
This book is a very easy read. Used it for a CTUonline.edu master's class on organizational behavior. I think almost all organizational behavior-related books cover mostly the same topics. I mean you either know your people or you don't. It's applied psychology. What made this book somewhat unique is that it often cited real life case studies of companies. It also offered various arguments and counterarguments of the different topics that the book covered, such as "does flextime lead to increased productivity?" and "can you teach leadership?"
Good content, but unprofessional publishing.......2005-02-02
I can disagree about the ease of understanding and the knowledge of Stephen Robbins, but Prentice Hall, the publisher of this book, has blown it. This book is filled with typos and misspellings.
For a $120+ book, I would hope they would put it in front of a copy editor.
Good Book.......2005-01-10
Hi All
This is an Excellent book for Starters. Well defined concepts and theories that actually work in real life situations. I read this book in 1998(9th Edition though).
Excellent compliment to course work.......2005-01-04
This is a very comprehensive book with lot of information explained in a conversational style that is an easy read.
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Hardcover Organizational Behavior 7th edition
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LARGE , 11 X 8 1/2 HARDCOVER
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Organizational Behavior: Concepts, Controversies, and Applications/Book and Disk
Stephen P. Robbins
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Publisher: Prentice-Hall of IndiaEdition: Seventh International
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Behavior-modifying Chemicals for Insect Management
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Book Description
Presenting an authoritative overview of current findings on pheromone applications, this reference reviews the principles involved in employing these compounds, their chemistry, and delivery systems for efficient use. In addition, it provides case studies of current and potential practical applicati
Book Description
"Biotechnology" as generally understood is a misnomer, having less to do with biology than with generating profits from genetic manipulation. The corporatizing of genetic science is just the latest risky manifestation of a dysfunctional industrial paradigm based on consuming natural capital and producing toxic waste--an economic model totally at odds with the evolutionary intelligence of living systems.
But there is another way. The "true biotechnologies," described in this second volume in the Bioneers series, are working strategies grounded in the innate complexity, relatedness, and sustainability of natural ecosystems. The contributors to this volume are visionary leaders in fields such as biomimicry (mimicking nature in order to restore nature and serve human ends harmlessly), "living machines" that break down toxics biologically, natural design for industrial processes and buildings, and the restoration of natural capital. Their guiding principles include diversity, kinship, symbiosis, reciprocity, and community. These brilliant innovators illuminate a future environment of hope by "wedding human ingenuity with the wisdom of the wild," as contributor John Todd puts it.
Human beings are a keystone species with an essential role to play in the ecological well-being of our world; we are only just learning how to go about it. Sector by sector--from energy and agriculture to transportation, industrial production, and land management--the true biotechnologies described here show how nature has already orchestrated a symphony of intelligent design that we can emulate and adapt, to the benefit of humanity and all life on Earth.
Customer Reviews:
Inspiring reading.......2007-08-23
This was one of two books suggested as texts for a Permaculture Design Course I am taking.
The essays are inspiring and educational.
I have loved reading this little big book, and will probably read many parts of it again.
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- The Secret Sins of Economics
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