"We often think of our capacity to experience the suffering of others as the ultimate source of goodness. Many of our wisest policy-makers, activists, scientists, and philosophers agree that the only problem with empathy is that we don't have enough of it. Nothing could be farther from the truth, argues Yale researcher Paul Bloom. In [this book], Bloom reveals empathy to be one of the leading motivators of inequality and immorality in society. Far...

"For many of us, our possessions and the lifestyle that goes along with them are causing more stress than happiness otherwise known as "keeping up with the Joneses" or what Alain de Botton calls "status anxiety." But James Wallman argues that we are approaching a tipping point with regard to materialism. People are turning away from the endless drive to consume in favor of a simpler, more streamlined way of living. The shift is already underway: influential...