Of happiness
The US Declaration of Independence recognised the importance of happiness, linking it with freedom from British oppression. ‘‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,’’ it said.
But is the freedom to be master, or mistress, of your own destiny happiness-inducing? The Applied Research into Quality of Life journal agrees with both the World Happiness Report (which ranks wealthier countries, New Zealand included, as the happiest) and the US founding fathers that it is.
The current state of play appears to be that, if you are poor, an improvement in your ‘‘economic freedom’’ (that is the ability to make economic choices) has a large impact on your happiness.
Once you have enough money to make basic choices, political freedom becomes important to happiness.
New Zealand has finally pulled its head out of the sand in tackling corruption head-on, but for years we pretended there was no corruption in New Zealand.
Recent years have seen exposure and higher-profile investigations of corrupt employees, corrupt civil servants, corrupt WOF inspectors and corrupt use of companies and trusts.
The research appears to show that perceptions of rising corruption hurt happiness most in developed countries, where people expect corruption not to happen.
The World Happiness Report authors had to construct their rankings from easily available data, and they admit some of their six happiness factors may, in fact, be taking credit for something else.
High GDP may, for example, indicate a country with an economy in which there are more opportunities for people to use their potential, and achieve a sense of purpose in their lives.
And there may be some things that are big influencers of happiness that are not being caught at all.
An absence of violence, no restrictions on the ability to live your culture or sexuality, access to nature, and reasonable commutes, are all predictors of happiness in humans.
This story is part of the Good Life Guide, an editorial project sponsored by Skoda. Read more about our partnership content at www.stuff.co.nz/about-stuff/ 108048616/Advertising-relatedcontent-on-stuff