The world's happiest nations index came out this week and it is no surprise that the United States in not among the top ten. Given that it has the highest rate of school shooting violence in the world one would expect the US to be lower than 13th.* What is important to human happiness apparently is social equity. All of the top ten countries are homogeneous nations with strong social safety nets. Denmark is at the top again after being displaced by Switzerland last year, followed by: Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden.
Researchers found that happiness can be explained by six variables: gross domestic product per capita; healthy years of life expectancy; social support; trust (as measured
by perceived absence of corruption in government and business);
perceived freedom to make life choices; and generosity (as measured by
donations). GDP, which is endlessly touted in the US as the key to "the pursuit of happiness" alone is not enough to make the "American Dream" come true for a substantial number of citizens. Says Professor Jeffrey
Sachs, director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which
produced the report in association with the UN,“The predominant political discourse in the United States is aimed at
raising economic growth, with the goal of restoring the ‘American dream’
and the happiness that is supposed to accompany it. But the data show
conclusively that this is the wrong approach.” Other experts spoke out against the "tyranny of the GDP" which ignores the quality of life's many aspects. Poverty, war and crisis is a key condition shared by the ten unhappiest
nations: with Yemen, South Sudan, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Rwanda, Syria,
Tanzania, Burundi and the Central African Republic at bottom of the list.
A good example of what can happen to a country's well being is Greece. It saw the largest drop in happiness from 2005 to 2015 when its financial meltdown began in 2007 and economic austerity was imposed from without. Three financial bailouts, widespread distrust in authority, and corruption are associated with a diminishing sense of well-being among its citizens. In contrast, Japan experienced an in increase in relative happiness despite the Fukushima nuclear disaster because of the outpouring of generosity and cooperation which helped affected citizens rebuild their lives. Dr. Henry Sachs from Columbia University helped edit the report and wrote, “The libertarian argument that economic freedom should be championed
above all other values decisively fails the happiness test: There is no
evidence that economic freedom per se is a major direct contributor of
human well-being above and beyond what it might contribute towards
per-capita income and employment. Pope Francis in his widely acclaimed encyclical, Laudato Si agrees with that assessment. A world of continuing economic expansion based on technological improvements that neglects biological needs and planetary health is doomed to eventual failure.
*the [dis]United States has a gun homicide rate that is 25.2 times higher than the rest of the high-income world. Its gun death rate is exceeded by underdeveloped Central American countries like El Salvador, which are plagued with civil unrest and criminal gang violence.