Stefano Bartolini's book offers a journey through the causes and remedies of the contemporary dissatisfaction. The main problem is that economic development is accompanied by a progressive deterioration of social and emotional relationships. And as evidenced by the current crisis, this development is not only an obstacle to well-being, but also exposes the economic stability at considerable risk. The crisis today is in fact the result of a social organization that causes the desertification of human relations.

That's why our economic system and many aspects of our individual and collective experience - family, work, media, urban life, school, health - need a deep cultural and organizational change. Governments and local authorities, political parties and political movements, business leaders, parents, teachers, doctors and we all have the opportunity and responsibility to transform our world. Changing school, change city, changing our approach to health, change the aims of our economic system... These are some of the proposals that make up a veritable manifesto for happiness.

Stefano Bartolini teaches political and social economy at the University of Siena. He has published numerous articles in the most prestigious international journals.