Schoolchildren in Soweto, South Africa, study The Way to Happiness as part of their curriculum.

     And then there was this small book’s role in drug-torn Colombia. Declaring the root of Colombian violence lay, “not in politics but in the soul of our people,” the publisher of the nation’s most influential newspaper, El Tiempo, not only saw to the distribution of the booklet, but reprinted selections from its text in his paper. “When I read The Way to Happiness,” he explained, “I realized that this is our solution for social and personal illness.” Likewise, much taken by the booklet’s possibilities, a Colombian army general ordered 30,000 copies distributed to soldiers fighting the drug war. Concurrently, Colombia’s Minister of Education announced a “Set a Good Example” contest, encouraging the nation’s teachers, alumni, directors of education and parents to organize The Way to Happiness discussion groups.

     Today, of course, the popular assault on moral decline is pervasive. It is addressed by virtually every political referendum and has sparked any number of articles, books and documentaries. To what degree this shrill cry for a moral resurgence has, in turn, been sparked by Mr. Hubbard’s work is, of course, difficult to say. But with his The Way to Happiness he has clearly charted a course toward greater tolerance, peace and mutual trust.