Could a government dare to set out with happiness as its goal? Now that there are accepted scientific proofs, it would be easy to audit the progress of national happiness annually, just as we monitor money and GDP.

Quote by Polly Toynbee

Topics: Polly Toynbee Quotes

The strongest predictor of unhappiness is anyone who has had a mental illness in the...

The strongest predictor of unhappiness is anyone who has had a mental illness in the...

Crime is only the worst example, but it is a paradigm for other Labour policy...

Crime is only the worst example, but it is a paradigm for other Labour policy...

There is all the difference in the world between teaching children about religion and handing...

There is all the difference in the world between teaching children about religion and handing...

Inequality makes everyone unhappy, the poor most of all, and that is well within the...

Inequality makes everyone unhappy, the poor most of all, and that is well within the...

So what really works? Treatments in jail do some good, but it's mostly too late:...

So what really works? Treatments in jail do some good, but it's mostly too late:...

But instead of standing up for reason, our government is handing education over to the...

But instead of standing up for reason, our government is handing education over to the...

In the polls, over 80% support the right to die and have done for the...

In the polls, over 80% support the right to die and have done for the...

But how odd that in this heathen nation of empty pews, where churches' bare, ruined...

But how odd that in this heathen nation of empty pews, where churches' bare, ruined...

People want the right to die at a time of their own choosing. Too many...

People want the right to die at a time of their own choosing. Too many...

Working lives are for the state to influence. Unemployment makes people unhappy. So does instability.

Working lives are for the state to influence. Unemployment makes people unhappy. So does instability.

This is indeed a clash of civilisations, not between Islam and Christendom but between reason...

This is indeed a clash of civilisations, not between Islam and Christendom but between reason...

Happiness is a real, objective phenomenon, scientifically verifiable. That means people and whole societies can...

Happiness is a real, objective phenomenon, scientifically verifiable. That means people and whole societies can...

Thresholds of pain, indignity and incapacity are entirely personal.

Thresholds of pain, indignity and incapacity are entirely personal.

But the single overwhelming reason why jails are bursting is longer sentences given for more...

But the single overwhelming reason why jails are bursting is longer sentences given for more...

One in six people suffer depression or a chronic anxiety disorder. These are not the...

One in six people suffer depression or a chronic anxiety disorder. These are not the...

It is now possible to quantify people's levels of happiness pretty accurately by asking them,...

It is now possible to quantify people's levels of happiness pretty accurately by asking them,...

The best care on earth cannot prevent us all dying in the end.

The best care on earth cannot prevent us all dying in the end.

How do you make any sense of history, art or literature without knowing the stories...

How do you make any sense of history, art or literature without knowing the stories...

Is anyone serious about the politics of happiness? David Cameron dipped a toe in the...

Is anyone serious about the politics of happiness? David Cameron dipped a toe in the...

Openness about death has led to greater care about all aspects of dying.

Openness about death has led to greater care about all aspects of dying.