Gregg Easterbrook

In a brief interview with Lynn Green, Gregg Easterbrook talked about "the revenge of the credit card" and other aspects of "How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse" (the subtitle of his latest book, The Progress Paradox).

The first exchanges from the interview:

A key point in your book is that money definitely cannot buy happiness. So why is it that we Americans are still obsessed with it?

Everyone needs a certain amount of money. Beyond that, we pursue money because we know how to obtain it. We don't necessarily know how to obtain happiness.

Should we really expect to "be happy"? Isn't that a self-indulgent goal?

Aristotle called happiness "the highest good." The Framers of American democracy advocated "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Neither Aristotle nor the Framers were known for self-indulgence. All believed that happiness is a legitimate goal in life; perhaps, one of the reasons we are here.

Read on.

See how the Page 69 Test worked for The Progress Paradox.

--Marshal Zeringue