Think Again: The Economist’s “Happy” Ignorance

[NJMaverick]

Quote:“The notion that money can’t buy happiness is popular, especially among Europeans who believe that growth-oriented free-market economies have got it wrong,” the authors explain. But according to the magazine’s reading of the data, “four main factors” determine happiness: “gender, personality, external circumstances and age.”

Some of the research, however, proves puzzling. “Hong Kong and Denmark, for instance, have similar income per person, at purchasing-power parity; but Hong Kong’s average life satisfaction is 5.5 on a 10-point scale, and Denmark’s is 8. ... the ex-Soviet Union [is] spectacularly miserable, and the saddest place in the world, relative to its income per person, is Bulgaria.”

The authors would like to find an explanation in the national character of these places, because if they don’t, they would have to accept the obvious. Life is happier in Denmark than Singapore because it’s a much better place to live. And despite all those old jokes about (exaggerated) Scandanavian suicide rates, Danes are also happier than Americans, and the reasons are just about as good. Owing to The Economist’s apparently unshakeable commitment to laissez faire economics, though, the reader is left in the dark.

There’s no mention, for instance, that Denmark spends nearly one-third of its gross domestic product on government-run benefits and taxes its citizens at an equivalently high rate. In recent years, its top bracket has been well more than 60 percent, nearly double the highest rate in the United States. With these revenues, the state spends roughly 5 percent of its GDP on the unemployed and as much as 2 percent alone on “flexicurity” labor market programs to help retrain displaced workers.

This compares with a feeble 0.16 percent of such spending in the United States, which is by far the lowest in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD. Partly as a result, Denmark’s unemployment rate is much lower than that of the United States. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Denmark’s “Quality of Life” index proved superior to that of America as well, with advantages like universal health care and day care, and an extremely low poverty rate that’s not even a quarter of that of the United States, which is one of the worst performers in this category according to OECD figures.

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2...10611.html

[Velleity]

This is an interesting subject Mav.

It is my opinion, having studied economics, that the concept of "laissez faire economics" is an intellectual exercise and not something that ought to be imposed as an end in and of itself. Many, but not all, radical capitalists have conflated the idea of the free market with freedom.

This is a huge intellectual leap. If I took a dollar from you, how much of your "freedom" have I deprived you of?

Suppose if your car gets broken into and your car stereo gets stolen, suppose it costs you a $100 deductible. Which deprives you more of your "freedom"? Having your car stereo stolen or having $100 taken from you in, say, taxes? The car stereo example is only a mild example, but I have had my car stereo stolen and while it is certainly not as bad as being raped (not even close) there is a sense of violation that my car was f***** with. That's my space and it matters more than a sum of money that I can replace.

I'm not sure I explained that very well, but if you study "freedom" and philosophers from whom our notions of freedom have derived I believe you will find that they made this distinction. Having money, per se, is not a big part of what freedome is about and conflating lassaize faire capitalism with freedom is not impressive.

Studying the markets and using a lassaize faire capitalist model is more instructive than trying to actually impose lassaize faire capitalism. As an intellectual exercise it works reasonably well but things like "utils," or supposed measures of the marginal utilities that people derive from various choices, is just not real applicable to real peoples' lives.

Like Keynes said, markets work always and everywhere in the long run, but in the long run we're all dead.

There's so much in that simple statement. . . I wish I could explain more of it but I'm afraid I have to leave it at that.

[NJMaverick]

You raise some very good points. I also find this an interesting topic, especially in light of conservatives trying to scare the American public by saying the Dems are trying to make the US like Europe. It seems to me most European countries are better off that the US in terms of quality of life.

[Velleity]

(01-10-2011 09:41 AM)NJMaverick Wrote:  You raise some very good points. I also find this an interesting topic, especially in light of conservatives trying to scare the American public by saying the Dems are trying to make the US like Europe. It seems to me most European countries are better off that the US in terms of quality of life.

There are certainly pluses that "conservatives" all too easily gloss over. But then I have found "conservatives" to be severely disinformed.

I believe there is a balance to be struck. We could be more like Europeans without being "socialist".

I will give "conservatives" this: it's not so easy to get politicians to pursue this balance for various and sundry reasons. I don't think that's a good excuse for not trying though.

I still think it's most deplorable the way "conservatives" shoehorn the notion of "freedom" into the debate. It isn't about "freedom". It's about when it's appropriate to have a corporation with a profit motive and when it isn't. Europeans may very well have a better balance than we have now.

[Dimwitted Fool]

I remember a "study" some time ago that explained Denmark's high happiness quotient as being from lowered expectations-- the Danes just don't expect as much from life as we do. They seem to be quite happy with what they have.

Perhaps that needs a bit of clarification-- the Danes don't expect as much money, influence, or stuff as we do. They gave up much of that insane competitive drive with the last of the Vikings.

[Velleity]

(01-10-2011 01:15 PM)Dimwitted Fool Wrote:  I remember a "study" some time ago that explained Denmark's high happiness quotient as being from lowered expectations-- the Danes just don't expect as much from life as we do. They seem to be quite happy with what they have.

Perhaps that needs a bit of clarification-- the Danes don't expect as much money, influence, or stuff as we do. They gave up much of that insane competitive drive with the last of the Vikings.

They also experienced WWII, and the post war, from a different angle.