Modern Life: As Good as it Gets? - Softcover

Docwra, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1903998972 ISBN 13: 9781903998977

Publisher: Green Books, 2008

Synopsis

Were always too busy . . . we try to find happiness through consumption . . .our media are obsessed by celebrity . . . our communities are dying . . . where on earth are we going?

We have wealth that would have seemed inconceivable to previous generations, but many people find their lives deeply unsatisfying. Richard Docwra examines this paradox: he looks beneath the surface to see how we understand, are affected by, and deal with the world in our minds.

He identifies some common causes of our malaise: a key one being our societys obsession with profit and economic growth, the effects of which seep into many unexpected areas of our livesincluding our stress levels, how we behave with our friends, the sort of people we become, and our ability to make choices. Modern Life: As good as it gets? examines how people can empower themselves with the necessary intellectual skills so they can lead truly self-determined lives in a complex world, and how we can put people and planet before profit

About this title

About the Author

Richard Docwra has been involved in the search for social and global change for several years, working with organisations such as Oxfam, CND and Schumacher UK. In 2005 he set up ChangeStar, a mixture of think tank, consultancy and service provider to the not-for-profit sector that uses practical wisdom to seek a more sustainable, just and intellectually coherent world. He lives in Lewes, Sussex.

From the Back Cover

We're always too busy...
We try to find happiness through consumption...
Our communities are dying...
What can we do about it?
We have wealth that would have seemed inconceivable to previous generations, but many people find life in the modern world deeply unsatisfying. In Modern Life: As good as it gets? Richard Docwra looks at how we live in the 21st century - a world of speed, complexity and consumerism - and how we handle our modern lives on a day-to-day basis.
He identifies some common causes of our malaise, which include our society's obsession with economic growth and the fact that most of us lack the mental tools we need to handle life in the modern world. This underlying dissatisfaction affects many areas of our lives - including how we behave with our friends, our ability to make choices, our stress levels, and the sort of people we become.
Despite these pressures, however, there is much we can do to live the kinds of lives that we want. Modern Life: As good as its gets? examines the steps we can take to move towards a better future as a society, and gain more freedom, happiness and fulfilment in our individual lives.

Edition details

• Publisher: Green Books
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1903998972
• ISBN 13: 9781903998977
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160