Happy, happy, happy, happy

An article by a business prof at Syracuse caught my eye (here). He asks, does money make you happy? Well, no, not really, except in certain circumstances. He goes on to note how the more we make the more we want, etc. Nothing new here, really. He also notes that success is really the ingredient (in the research I've read, it is not even that, it is the pursuit of goals, goal oriented behavior makes us happy and satisfied. But this Prof. Brooks, then stretches it way too thin, suggesting that capitalism has something to do with American's "happiness." Capitalism also has lots to do with defining what makes us happy and what we want. Happiness is one thing, related is life satisfaction, which is more studied, has a much longer history.

Consider:

Life satisfaction (most recent) by country

Showing latest available data. Rank Countries Amount (top to bottom)
#1 Malta: 8
#2 Switzerland: 8
#3 Denmark: 8
#4 Ireland: 7.8
#5 Iceland: 7.8
#6 Canada: 7.6
#7 Luxembourg: 7.6
#8 Netherlands: 7.6
#9 Finland: 7.5
#10 Sweden: 7.5
#11 New Zealand: 7.4
#12 Norway: 7.4
#13 United States: 7.4
#14 Belgium: 7.3
#15 Australia: 7.3
#16 United Kingdom: 7.2
#17 El Salvador: 7.2
#18 Germany: 7.1
#19 Brazil: 7
#20 Italy: 6.9
#21 Singapore: 6.9
#22 Argentina: 6.8
#23 Venezuela: 6.8
#24 Dominican Republic: 6.8
#25 Portugal: 6.7
#26 Uruguay: 6.7
#27 Israel: 6.7
#28 Spain: 6.6
#29 France: 6.6
#30 Indonesia: 6.6
#31 Taiwan: 6.6
#32 Philippines: 6.4
#33 Slovenia: 6.3
#34 Japan: 6.2
#35 Vietnam: 6.1
#36 Peru: 6
#37 Iran: 6
#38 Poland: 5.9
#39 Croatia: 5.9
#40 Korea, South: 5.8
#41 Bangladesh: 5.7
#42 Slovakia: 5.6
#43 South Africa: 5.6
#44 Turkey: 5.6
#45 Morocco: 5.6
#46 Hungary: 5.5
#47 Uganda: 5.2
#48 Algeria: 5.2
#49 Estonia: 5.2
#50 Serbia and Montenegro: 5.1
#51 Jordan: 5.1
#52 Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of: 4.9
#53 Lithuania: 4.9
#54 Azerbaijan: 4.9
#55 Egypt: 4.8
#56 Latvia: 4.8
#57 Romania: 4.7
#58 Albania: 4.6
#59 Bulgaria: 4.5
#60 Russia: 4.4
#61 Belarus: 4.3
#62 Pakistan: 4.3
#63 Angola: 4.3
#64 Georgia: 4.1
#65 Armenia: 3.7
#66 Ukraine: 3.6
#67 Moldova: 3.5
#68 Zimbabwe: 3.3
#69 Tanzania: 3.2
Weighted average: 6.0



DEFINITION: Most scores are based on responses to the following question: "All things considered, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your life-as-a-whole now? 1 dissatisfied to10 satisfied" (item code O-SLW/c/sq/n/10/a). Scores of ten nations are based on responses to a somewhat different question: "Suppose the top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder the worst possible life. Where on this ladder do you feel you personally stand at the present time?" The response was rated on a ladder scale ranging from 0 to 10 (item code O-BW/c/sq/l/11/c). We transformed the scores using the information of nations in which both this item and the above question on life-satisfaction had been used in about the same years.


SOURCE: World Database of Happiness, Happiness in Nations, Rank Report 2004/1 Average happiness in 90 nations 1990-2000 via NationMaster

The US ranks 13th. Malta? Deeply religious, for most of us, oppressively so. The wide open opportunity societies, are the former Soviet republics, they rank pretty low. But the EU countries, with their balance of capitalism and welfare states, show the most life satisfaction, even with the ossified class structure of Europe.

Even Finland, notorious for its depressive and introverted folks, ranks higher than the US.

This concept of life satisfaction or happiness is very complicated. Even what I present here is a single measure. And there is no analysis, just speculation about the results. But that doesn't stop Prof Brooks from making statements about political economy. Why bother with evidence at all?