Should we strive to make our residents happy? The common theme among the 10 happiest countries on the planet is the social good is prioritized over the individual good. Beyond safety, what should the job of the government be if not to create a happy society? Nature and outdoor life seems to be another common element Top 10 Happiest Nations—and What They Know That You Don’t - TRAVELBUCKETLIST 1. Finland: The Art of Sisu and Social Support 2. Denmark: Hygge, Trust, and Togetherness 3. Iceland: Nature, Equality, and Resilience
I suspect there is uniformity of culture. Also I wonder if there is something about living in cold weather as these places seem to score higher. I’d be willing to be that Minnesotans are happier than average US. Or maybe it’s just Norwegian culture. I suspect it would be hard for the US to replicate this. Our country is full of immigrants who moved because they were not happy. They were motivated to have more. That aspirational motivation could conflict with being content and happy with your current status.
maybe more about mutual respect for each other and for the communal goal. I saw races of all kinds, an heard all kinds of languages, in Norway and Finland. I also saw tht everyone drove the speed limit, nobody felt entitled to cut in front of you, a common respect for others. deals were more about how both parties could win rather than how I can win and you can lose. life needs balance. our culture is way out of balance right now. watched a history channel show tonight about the US oligarchs (Rockefeller, Carnegie, JP Morgan) and how they built their empires by paying living wages to their workers and providing them a much better life which gave them better employees and better productivity. the pursuit of profit has removed that sense of social responsibility that those men seem to have felt as they gave away their wealth to benefit society. Rockefeller gave away $540M way back when to help build this country. Now we have Musk taking food from starving children to give himself a tax break and MAGA cheering it on.
Almost all of this countries are very homogeneous in race and culture. THAT is the over riding similarity. And almost all are overwhelmingly white/European. They are not necessarily the richest countries or the most powerful. Most have stricter immigration laws.(not all). The great melting pot experiment failed. We are not a united country. We are a fragmented country that claims to value diversity when it is diversity that often doesn’t vices us. Not necessarily diversity of skin color but diversity of culture… something no one seems willing to admit nor confront.
If racial and cultural homogeneity were the key, it seems like we'd see higher levels of reported happiness in countries such as Japan and South Korea (not to mention China or North Korea), and less happiness in countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Domestically, it seems like we'd expect more happiness in West Virginia than in Florida given that Florida is a very diverse state and West Virginia is one of the least. Of course, one could point to Utah as a counter-example since it's less diverse while ranking high in the happiness polls. It would be interesting to account for variables such as education, poverty levels, health care access, and work-life balance. Japan and South Korea, for example, would likely score high on educational attainment but low in terms of work-life balance and job satisfaction.
Interesting angle. I'd still put it more on the nature of corporate greed and its oversized influence in our openly pay-to-play political system. The all-consuming blob that must grow at all costs and the myopia that creates and pushes throughout society.
The rich then were definitely better than the rich of today, due in part to the Yankee Tradition. Think the Frederick the Great approach to leadership vs. the Louis XIV approach. Or the Bush's vs. crass tech bros. There was a sense of duty to give back that is completely absent from most of today's billionaires. GHWB could have had a cushy stateside gig (what his father wanted) and transitioned to finance like his dad, but he ran away and signed up to be a torpedo-bomber pilot. Contrast that with Trump, or even Clinton. That said, I think the folks at Homestead might take issue with the "living wage" comment.
Wealthiest, most diverse, and most powerful country in the world says “We are failing. We need to radically embrace racism and xenophobia to fix it.”
Meanwhile, we were leading the world in almost every important economic category. Aaaa, the sky is falling!!!. . . because "woke" people.
Counterpoint: there is not a significant relationship between racial diversity and happiness in the state-level data. However, the correlation is actually positive, not negative.
will repeated attacks on those not like us help divide or fragment the country? who benefits from the hateful rhetoric that divides us?
The ruling elite. Left and right. They want us segregated into many different groups so they can control and manipulate.
You give "them" too much credit. Besides, who is "them" anyway? And half the time "they" can even agree among themselves. As for who benefits... The individual politician, his financiers and the party at large. Individuals working in their own self interest. I wish there was a "they" we could just target and get rid of, but "they" is an entire Byzantine system with myriad flaws, most prevalent being our openly pay-to-play system. Of course average voters (on both sides) are annoyed. They don't have the money to finance campaigns, so they bait you with social issues. And in MAGA's (and even the hardcore woke/SJW) case, they take the bait and swallow the hook.
