September 28, 2018Open Lecture(9/28): "Manifesto for Happiness:" by Professor Stefano Bartolini, University of Siena

Manifesto for Happiness: Designing Post-growth and Policies for Relational Society

Stefano Bartolini (Department of Political Economy and Statistics, University of Siena, Italy)

Time & Date： 15:10-18:30, September 28, 2018

Venue：H-213, Honkan Building, International Christian University

Prof. Stefano Bartolini introduces the outline of his book Manifesto for Happiness: How to Shift from the Society of Well-having to that of Well-being, whose Japanese translation was published in August 2018. In this book, Bartolini explains complex relationships between economic growth and the decline of happiness in the US society, using a highly original theoretical model called the 'defensive growth' model. He also brings to light the problems of post-democracy which lies at the heart of consumerist society and delineates how political elites in advanced societies follow the interests of big business at the expense of well-beings of ordinary citizens. His work not only reveals institutional problems of market-driven capitalism but also highlights socio-political backgrounds in which the right-wing reactionary populism emerges in advanced societies such as US and Europe. As opposed to the prevailing dooms-day scenario, Bartolini proposes the transition to post-growth and the implementation of policy programmes for relational society.