"To what purpose are powers limited, and to what purpose is that limitation committed to writing,
if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803

Happy Happy Joy Joy

by Hal_10000

Apparently, despite what the libs believe, the world is happier than ever:

People in most countries around the world are happier these days, according to newly released data from the World Values Survey based at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

Data from representative national surveys conducted from 1981 to 2007 show the happiness index rose in an overwhelming majority of nations studied.

“It’s a surprising finding,” said U-M political scientist Ronald Inglehart, who directs the World Values Surveys and is the lead author of an article on the topic to be published in the July 2008 issue of the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science. “It’s widely believed that it’s almost impossible to raise an entire country’s happiness level.”

The 2007 wave of the surveys also provides a ranking of 97 nations containing 90 percent of the world’s population. The results indicate that Denmark is the happiest nation in the world and Zimbabwe the unhappiest. The United States ranks 16th on the list, immediately after New Zealand.

During the past 26 years, the World Values Surveys have asked more than 350,000 people how happy they are, using the same two questions.

“Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy?” And, “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?”

Combining responses to these two questions, Inglehart and colleagues constructed an index of subjective well-being that reflects both happiness and general life satisfaction.

In the 52 countries for which a substantial time series is available (covering 17 years on average), this index rose in 40 countries and fell in only 12. The average percentage of people who said they were “very happy” increased by almost seven points.

I would be very curious to see if the happiness trends moved strongest right after the collapse of Communism.

One of the things that I am always struck by is the yawning chasm between how the world is and how it is perceived.  The world is more peaceful, more prosperous and better fed than it has ever been.  Yet if you listen to the media, we’re on the edge of destruction.  The other day, I heard Limbaugh commenting about just how much of our news broadcasts consist of speculation and projections of the future.  Global warming, debt, terrorism, famine, etc.  I guess we have to look to the unknown future for our bad news since today’s news is generally good (and hence boring).

I guess I’m part of that.  Despite being optimistic and generally good-natured, I mostly blog about things that annoy me.  But in a way I illustrate the point.  In another age, I would have blogging about smallpox epidemics, pogroms, lynchings and cities burning to the ground.  That I have the luxury of complaining about fireworks fines is a sign of just how good the times are.

Looking at the list of nations, there are some surprises.  No one is surprised that Zimbabwe is the most miserable nation on Earth while a scandinavian country is the happiest.  But:

Colombia is third.  That’s got to the hefty relief from the progress their government is making against terrorism and drug cartels.  (And while I’m at it, how wonderful is the rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and her colleagues?  Chavez must be beside himself.)

Northern Ireland is fifth.  This has got to be, like Colombia, a reaction to the decrease in violence.  Either that or the Northern Irish are drunk.  Or both.

Ireland is sixth.  Not coincidentally, they also have the best and most liberalized economy in Europe.  And they are also possibly drunk.

Switzerland is seventh.  I’m surprised that they are that low.  If I could pick any nation to live in, besides America, Switzerland would be my choice.  It’s the most beautiful country on Earth.

Canada comes in ninth.  That’s got to be a misprint.  Canada is the ultimate “meh” nation.  No one’s miserable but is anyone really that happy?  Really?  In Canada?  Are re-runs of SCTV that entertaining?

El Salvador is 11th, Guatemala is 15th and Mexico is 17th.  How can these countries be as happy as the US?  I’m guessing it’s because America’s happiness index is driven down about 15 points by our eternally pessimistic media.  I would also note that El Salvador in particular benefited from the defeat of Communism.

Oh, and those socialists paradises Michael Moore would like us to imitate? Sweden is 14th, Germany is 35th and lovely France is 37th, despite the WHO’s claim that they have the best healthcare system in the world.

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