In his book, Richard Layard shows that we find ourselves in a paradoxical situation. Most people want their income to be higher. Our societies are indeed becoming richer, but this does not make them happier. This fact is confirmed by numerous scientific studies. We have effective ways to measure how happy people are; All available evidence confirms that, on average, they have not become happier over the past half century, even though their incomes have more than doubled. In Europe and America, this process was accompanied by an increase in depression, alcoholism and crime. What is happening? Richard Layard is a prominent English economist who believes that it is not necessary to equate the happiness of a society with its level of income. The scientist's most famous works were devoted to unemployment and inequality and laid the foundation for British policy in the field of combating unemployment. Layard founded the Center for Economic Development at the London School of Economics and has been a member of the House of Lords since 2000. The study of happiness uses scientific evidence from fields such as psychology, neuroscience, economics, sociology and philosophy.