"Inspired Finance argues that much of the world's poor need access to financial services through vehicles such as microfinance rather than a continued reliance on charity. It demonstrates how modern microfinance traces its roots to various religious traditions, exploring the tension between...

The question asked in this paper is whether modern societies enable the individual to lead a happier life. It was hoped during the Age of the Enlightenment that rationally designed social conditions would lead in the future to greater prosperity, more security and increa- sed happiness for all....