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  • © 2019

History and Politics of Well-Being in Europe

Authors:

  • Provides a comprehensive overview of the history of European well-being from pre-modern times to its modern state of well-being
  • Discusses positive and negative components of well-being throughout different nations in Europe
  • Informs the reader on the political impact on well-being in history

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Well-Being and Quality of Life Research (BRIEFSWELLBEING)

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
  2. People and Eras in European Development

    • Wolfgang Glatzer
    Pages 1-7
  3. The Awareness of Europeans in Ancient Times

    • Wolfgang Glatzer
    Pages 13-15
  4. Wars and the Destruction of Well-Being

    • Wolfgang Glatzer
    Pages 23-27
  5. Long-Term State- and Nation-Building in Europe

    • Wolfgang Glatzer
    Pages 29-36
  6. Economic Growth and Levels of Living

    • Wolfgang Glatzer
    Pages 37-44
  7. The Spread of Democracy and Their Challenges

    • Wolfgang Glatzer
    Pages 45-48
  8. Variety and Inequality of Well-Being

    • Wolfgang Glatzer
    Pages 59-66
  9. Well-Being in Everyday Life

    • Wolfgang Glatzer
    Pages 67-72
  10. Long-Term Change and Future Perspectives

    • Wolfgang Glatzer
    Pages 73-77
  11. Back Matter

    Pages 79-84

About this book

This book presents a reconstruction of the history of well-being on the European continent with special attention to the European Union, as people from Europe have a history of a long-term march towards well-being. It discusses ancient civilizations on the European continent, which have contributed significantly to the features of well-being in contemporary Europe. Following Europe`s success over the past millennium, which brought the continent a unique rise to better well-being it also imposed new challenges for sustaining well-being and alleviating misery. It is shown that Europeans attained a high level of well-being in global comparison, yet their attitudes remained at the same time ambivalent and precarious. Significant parts of the population claim a low well-being and suffer from the difficulties of life. Even though a top ranked area of socio-economic development in the world, this book shows that poverty, inequality and  hardship remain stable structural problems whichhave to be overcome in order to avoid significant restrictions for a broad quality of life. But despite all their burdens and hardships, Europeans are among the most prosperous and privileged people in the world.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Social Sciences, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Wolfgang Glatzer

About the author

Wolfgang Glatzer from the Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main was engaged in quality of life and social indicators research during all the time of his professional life. His interest was also directed toward monitoring social change and analysing welfare and progress.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access