Satisfaction Not Guaranteed: Dilemmas of Progress in Modern Society

Peter N. Stearns, Provost and University Professor, George Mason University

Host: David Inge

In the affluent, industrial societies of the world today, life is good.  Most people live long lives, without fear of plague, famine or war.  So why is there depression, anxiety, unfulfilled longing? In short, why has abundance not led to greater happiness? That’s the question we’ll take up with our guest, historian Peter Stearns. We’ll talk about some of the ideas in his book "Satisfaction Not Guaranteed." The book looks at the ways people in the past thought about progress, and asks whether we can be truly happy in the modern world.

This is a repeat broadcast from Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 11 am