Pew (pew pew) Research recently published the results of a happiness survey conducted across many countries. They just asked everyone how happy they were from 1 to 10. I like this methodology compared to that of other surveys that define some indirect criteria, such as availability of public utilities, pollution, equality, or other things that could be arbitrarily weighted.
This would be because it is obvious anyone saying they are happy in that godforsaken weather is a liar.
I don’t know. Upon leaving America and returning home to the presence of slim women who do not use the phrase ‘like, totally’ in every sentence would probably drive the happiness quotient of those people through the roof.
The Pew researchers probably decided that Canada is too much like the US or possibly the UK. So, it was more worthwhile to concentrate their resources in countries that were more culturally different. Australia is also absent from the list, presumably for the same reason (too much like UK).
Mexico is intriguing. The country is fatter than the US (in your face, not the fattest anymore), has much worse and more violent crime, more social inequality / poverty and a much worse economy. The weather is clearly a lot better in Mexico than most of the US but what is there to be so happy about? I am also baffled by Venezuela, which is essentially not even a real country for lots of reasons.
^with Mexico, the country’s GDP/capital increased 2x since the early 90s after NAFTA. So anybody under 40 known 20yrs for economic growth, esp from a poor country to a middle income country.
Yes, I think recent growth is influential to these metrics, in addition to absolute wealth, since people will compare their current state to their previous state.
Of course, this does not explain why Argentina is ranked higher than every developed country but Israel. Maybe it is a cultural thing, or maybe it’s just because if all the women here looked like Argentinian women, I would also be pretty happy.
Right. Things that seem to make people happy in these surveys.
Absence of immediate crises.
A sense that the future looks better than the recent past.
A sense of belonging and/or social support.
A sense that those close to them are also secure and/or improving.
Indeed, social unrest often is most prominent not when things are at their worst, but when things look like they’re finally getting better. Often times expectations rise faster than they can be met.
Ok, but that still doesn’t mean life is measurably better for much of the population. From my experience travelling in Mexico and the Mexicans I know here, there are 2 types: poor and wealthy. Just because an economy expands a ton, doesn’t mean it lifts all boats equally.
no. there is no chart that can quantify the happiness of Canadians. especially Canadians in winter. i dare you to cross the border during hockey season and not break out in song. i mean, have you seen Mike Myers? also, Canadians prefer pain over pleasure anyway. why do you think the Maple Leafs are still Canada’s and the world’s most popular hockey team? masochists…
Yes, Canadians’ greatest pleasure is realized in the ability to keep a stiff upper lip while slogging through difficulties. The cold winters help, but if you take away all the difficulties, Canadians well have virtually no landmarks to orient their grim determinism. That’s why even widespread healthcare has to be dosed with long lines. Make it accessible, and they’ll figure they’ve already died and gone to heaven. And then they’ll stop voting, which is bad for politicians.
Fortunately, there’s always the Quebec Independence question, and distrust of Americans with Guns.
