According to the United Nations’ World Happiness Report for 2012 the following nations placed in the top eleven:
1. Denmark; 2. Finland; 3. Norway; 4. The Netherlands; 5. Canada; 6. Switzerland; 7. Sweden; 8. New Zealand; 9. Australia; 10. Ireland, and 11. USA.
Togo finished dead last.
With all the criticism surrounding the UN, maybe with this, it is on to something.
We in the West tend to focus on the annual GDP Rate – the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. Two Quarters of negative GDP Growth signifies Recession; Three Quarters, a Depression.
Maybe – just maybe, we have been looking at the wrong indicator.
To me, what really matters in one’s life is whether you have your fair share of Happiness.
Your Goal should probably be to sustain happiness in the ups and downs of the GDP; that is what I believe to be really important.
But many appear to have lost their way. They tend to be after The Big Car, The Big House, the Big Job …the Big (insert whatever you will). While what is really important in life is Not Things but rather, Family, Friends and Health.
Many articles in the media of late, point to the 1950s and 60s as the time when this trend started to take root. In particular, Women started to leave the home and join the workforce. Families found that financial success required both parents to work and the family unit began to unravel. In the decades since then, this trend has only increased.
And along with that, each successive generation is working harder and longer than the one before it. Workers in the private sector often now work 10 or more hours per day and added to that are atrocious commuting times. Their children are the hidden casualties of this growing trend.
Workers themselves are burning out – depression and anxiety are running rampant.
As mentioned in earlier Blogs, faced with this, a very large segment of Society has opted out of today’s workforce. They would rather try to survive on subsistence welfare than participate in today’s economy.
It was not that many years ago when talk of a ‘3 day work week’ made the rounds. Now people are lucky to hold it to 6 days per week. And retirement is being put off – often indefinitely.
We as a Society need to take control of this and the UN’s Happiness Index is probably as good a place to start as any.
If we were to give up Things and focused on what is truly of importance – we would all need less – considerably less. No one should be expected to work longer than 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week and retirement should come no longer than after 30 years of work. Indeed, I can envisage the 3 day work week plan and retirement 55 being ‘dusted off’ and eventually implemented.
That is not to say any of this would be mandatory – if people want to work longer – that of course would be their privilege to do so – and hopefully they would find their own happiness in so doing.
But the norm would be as I have noted above.
It would include a return to more families having a stay at home parent and indeed this is happening much more than one would think. People are more and more prepared to give up Things – for other people and along the way – they themselves greatly benefit. For instance, a greater number of parents are educating their children at home.
And given the equality of the sexes this thankfully means that the stay at home parent can be either the father or the mother without any stigma attached.
“Galagher, have you gone Communist on us?”
Not in the least – I will always believe that Capitalism is the best economic system available and I am confident that it will continue to function quite well within these parameters.
The GDP numbers may not be so awesome but I would leave that to the economists to worry about. Let them suffer anxiety if they wish.
I grant that this Blog may seem to you a little unusual given that it is Christmas Day 2012 but dear reader, the fact that it is Christmas sparked me to write it.
2000 years ago a baby was born to us in a manger with hay for a bed. He came in to nothing and he went out with nothing and yet throughout his young life here on earth he focused and made us focus on what was and continues to be of true importance.
As I see it…
‘K.D. Galagher’
