In case you missed it, Derek Bok’s book The Politics of Happiness was reviewed by Alan Wolfe in last Sunday’s New York Times Book Review. Although Wolfe had high praise for Bok, he was critical of the book which has prompted nods of agreement from some corners (see Volokh Conspiracy, “Alan Wolfe’s witty and insightful book review“). However, I found this comment on Public Policy Commentators NYC :

For one, [Wolfe] questions whether it is the role of government to attempt to maximize happiness. My counter argument is that government has no greater mandate to maximize family income, and yet it has been attempting to do just that in a thousand different ways. Governments make value choices. Why not place value on happiness?

The commentator has not read the book (yet), but it seems to me that this is indeed a big question. Why not happiness? and if we decide happiness matters, why not the government as a co-partner in helping us achieve our goal? Have a look at the links above and join in the conversation.