The riots in London will likely soon be effectively framed by the media as the result of racial tensions, antipathy towards police, and “recreational violence.” There may well be a smattering here and there of economic considerations — that perhaps this discord might be partially a symptom of austerity measures — but even this allowance will, in all probability, be subsumed by talk of anarchic youth and their “alienation, anger, boredom and mischief.” But for those willing to accept that there is an economic aspect to these recent conflagrations, there is probably a need to consider what prescriptions might exist to remedy these problems. Of course, it would be ridiculous to merely throw money at the problem. That would simply demonstrate acquiescence to impertinence! But bequeathing thousands of copies, to the right neighborhoods, of Tony Hsieh’s Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose? That might be just the ticket to turn these indigent, rioting frowns upside down. Give a man or woman a fish, feed her or him for a day. Give them exhortations on how to effectively channel their creative energies into profits and happiness, feed them exciting canards that may last a lifetime.

Hsieh is the business wunderkind responsible for LinkExchange, which he sold to Microsoft in 1998 for $265 million. He is currently the CEO of online shoe seller, Zappos, the hiring process for which, according to a New Yorker profile of 2009, involves “all new hires [signing] a document verifying that they’ve read and understood the Core Values, then [undergoing] a hundred and sixty hours of customer-loyalty training. At various points in the process, they are offered two thousand dollars in cash to quit. Workers who want to progress into management positions are required to take a hundred and forty-five more hours of classes, in subjects such as “tribal leadership,” “performance enhancement,” and “happiness.” (Core Value No. 5: Pursue Growth and Learning.).”

These Core Values comprise the following: