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The Politics of Happiness

Part of: Into the Stacks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2020

Susan J. Matt Open the ORCID record for Susan J. Matt [Opens in a new window]
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Extract

With its annual World Happiness Report, Gallup has been ranking the feelings of different nations since 2012 (Figure 1). In the latest contest, Finland edged out Denmark for happiest nation on earth. The United States placed nineteenth. South Sudan came in last. The results are based on surveys with queries such as the following: “Please imagine a ladder, with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?” and “Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your freedom to choose what you do with your life?” Respondents also report whether they have made charitable donations, and whether they have smiled, laughed, or experienced feelings of enjoyment or happiness recently.

Keywords

Ideas and Intellectual LifeSocial Life and CustomsLeisure and ConsumptionHumanities and Social SciencesHealth and Medicine
Type
Into the Stacks
Information
Modern American History , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 103 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

1 World Happiness Report: World Happiness Report, 2019, https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2019/?utm_source=workplace-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WorkplaceNewsletter_Test-A_March_031919&utm_content=downloadexitpp-CTA-6#read (accessed Nov. 6, 2019); John F. Helliwell, Haifang Huang, and Shun Wang, “Statistical Appendix 1 for Chapter 2 of World Happiness Report 2019,” https://s3.amazonaws.com/happiness-report/2019/WHR19_Ch2A_Appendix1.pdf (accessed Nov. 6, 2019).

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