We are now in our 48th year of independence and the most cursory analysis of our dailies will leave us in no doubt that, notwithstanding the claims that we have made significant progress since 1966, and particularly since 1992, for many, Guyana is a very unhappy place. This cannot be good, because the pursuit of happiness is axiomatic and most people believe that the task of government should be to attempt to maximize our happiness.
Nevertheless, there are those who question this apparent commonsensical objective, and our independence anniversary is as good a time as any for us to ponder the vicissitudes of what makes for a happy citizenry.
Happiness research is a growing field and this and the following article are based essentially on a recent talk, “Should Governments Maximize Happiness?” at the Warwick Business School, by Professor Bruno Frey.
The research suggests that happy people have all the attributes that we desire in ourselves and our society. They are said to be more optimistic about the future, smile much more during interaction and are more ready to help others. Happy people are also said to be more energetic and flexible, less absent from work, to quarrel less and have a higher tolerance of frustration.
Not surprisingly then, these kinds of people have less need of psychological counselling, are healthier, have a more effective immune system and are less likely to commit suicide. No wonder happiness is valued and we seek to produce a society of happy people.
Generally how happy we are is determined by various factors: our general disposition, which is somewhat dependent upon our genetic makeup; the state of our economy and cultural, political, religious and other institutional factors. It would appear that so far as happiness is concerned, there are some general trends that hold across countries and cultures.
Young people and older people tend to be happier than those between thirty to forty years of age.
This might be because when you are young you tend to be very optimistic of the future and think the sky is the limit and that when you are older you begin to realise that things are not so simple and become more satisfied with life.
Married people tend to be happier than they were before they were married but after about a decade of marriage the level of happiness is reduced to below what is was before marriage. Happiness in arranged marriages starts at a lower level, perhaps because the partners are not familiar with each other, but happiness improves with time. Not surprisingly, divorce causes a tremendous decrease in happiness but over time the level of happiness rises again.
Surprising as it may seem, couples without children are generally happier than those with and the level of happiness of those with children increases once the children are grown up and leave the home.
The general belief that children make you happier may then not be true. As is generally thought to be the case, education makes you happier, perhaps because it broadens your horizons and allows you to better appreciate the world in which you live, its culture, art, music, etc.
Higher income people are more satisfied and happier that lower income ones. Poverty is not recommended! There are, however, many issues here. For example, a good increase in income immediately produces happiness but this state wears off as the months go by.
A relatively large increase in salary given to a poor person will increase their happiness to a much greater degree than a similar increase given to a better off person. Furthermore, whether we become happier by a given increase depends on the level of increase given to our peer group, so that if my increase is less than that given to my peers I will be unhappy but if it is more I will be happy.
Unemployment usually gives rise to great unhappiness. But while the level of happiness stays low for the man, it gradually increases again for the woman. It is suggested that this is because it leads the man into becoming involved in dysfunctional activities such as excessive drinking, while the woman can usually find greater solace in the family.
It is said that although the self-employed generally work longer hours, face greater risks and usually work for less income than the employed, they are usually happier than the employed. No doubt this has something to do with the level of self-determination and greater feeling of freedom afforded by their context.
Not too dissimilarly, those living in a democracy are generally happier than citizens of dictatorial like systems for the simple reason that the former offer better levels of self-determination and freedom. Generally, decentralised political systems that bring governments close to the people in meaningful ways are better than those that do not.
Karl Marx claimed that religion is the opiate of the people and the mischievous would say that it is for this reason that the research shows that religious people tend to be happier than non-religious ones.
One kind of research has even suggested that people with low blood pressure are usually happier than those with high blood pressure.
The inquisitive among us will consider notions of cause and effect; for example is it the higher income that makes us happier or that we attain the higher income because we have a happy disposition?
People with negative personalities can make your life a misery and very few of us want to be around them for any length of time, whereas persons with positive personalities are more likely to find and keep jobs and succeed in the working environment. So which is the chicken and which the egg?
For centuries, political philosophers have argued that the task of governments is to maximise the happiness of their citizens. Should we not use the new insights into human happiness to do just that? Some people believe that, unless properly conceived, such efforts would lead to absurd results and are thus fraught with danger.
henryjeffrey@yahoo.com
