Comments on: A Happiness Index

By: Mike Sear

Mike Sear — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:26:11 +0000

The word “happy” is too jolly for our government to take seriously. If you called it the NSI…the National Stress Index…they could relate because it sounds more dramatic. Since the NSI and NHI are pretty much opppsites, go with the one that sells! Of course, “Don’t Worry, Be Less Stressed” doesn’t have quite the same effect coming out of Bobby McFerrin’s mouth.

By: Bernie Baum

Bernie Baum — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:09:22 +0000

Great concept! The problem in developing a HI is that
war,crime,etc. exist because they make some people hap-
pier (if not “happy”). Things are the way they are be-
cause some people with a vested interest in the status
quo like it!

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 14:19:10 +0000

Great topic. The comedian Dave Chappelle was torn apart by the media for leaving $50 Million on the table when he left his show on Comedy Central. His response was that he wasn’t happy, and the media speculated drug problems, depression, etc. All because he passed on a large paycheck for happiness. For some reason, especially in the U.S. it seems that our society puts a large emphasis on money as the root of happiness. But when you go to other countries where people live on pennies or dollars a day; they seem happier than people we know with six-figure incomes. Go figure…

By: Victoria

Victoria — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:48:59 +0000

Thank you for even taking the time to write about â€œHappinessâ€. The concept and/or definition may appear simple but is really a very personal and complicated concept. What â€œHappinessâ€ is, is not universal across cultural lines. However, the quest for â€œhappinessâ€ or â€œcontentmentâ€ is. It is indeed, measurable, as exhibited by very proven instruments, such as â€œThe Life Satisfaction Inventoryâ€ and conversely, â€œThe Hamilton Depression Scaleâ€, and many, many more. Social scientists have been studying this notion of happiness since before the study of Psychology. Maybe the real problem is, we have become a society that is too busy and stressed out to take the time to think about it, let alone, try to achieve it and by then, it may be too late! Thank you again for reminding us all, to do both and make it a priority in out lives!

By: Wesley

Wesley — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 04:42:51 +0000

Great post David. There have been a couple of folks who have pursued exactly what you have suggested. I’m not sure how much traction they’ve gotten but when there is a divergence between what a country produces and how its populace feels, then it’s time to think about a way to track that. A good example is that if we dropped pollution controls then GNP would rise but quality of life would drop. But current economic-centric indicators wouldn’t be able to distinguish between the two strategies–though people trying to drink polluted water or breath smoggy air certainly would. And it’s not just pollution but all of those factors that you’ve listed that contributed to well-being. Granted there would be arguing over what would go into it but there were those same arguments on what to put in GNP (for example do you include housework?). I hope you continue to flush out your thinking on this topic and thanks for the link to our happiness week.