Happiness index and misery index (#36; Topic D)

Power in our building was knocked out by strong wind last night. Fumbling with the radio dial this morning, I somehow got a Federal-network station, in the midst of reporting a Federal-funded program on teaching people how to laugh, since "laugh makes people happy," and since the pursuit of happiness is one of a person's unalienable rights. Coincidentally, the night before, I read a review of The History of Happiness in The Economist (1/14/06). Darrin McMahon, the book's author, wrote that happiness to ancient Greeks was largely bound up with the notions of luck and fortune, while Christianity played down these in favor of "the promise of eternal happiness in the next life." In China, happiness is linked to learning. The Analects of Confucius opens with: "Learning coupled with practice whenever possible -- is it not joyful?" (1.1). Elsewhere, the Master said: "A person with knowledge lives a happy life" (6.23). (Both are from my translation of the Analects, published in 1999). Interestingly, the United States does not compile a "Happiness Index"(Bhutan does), but a "misery index" (the sum of unemployment and inflation rates). In the 2005 version, which expands to include GDP growth and budget balances, USA was on top among G-7 countries (in 1994, Italy led the pack).
Posted 10:32 pm, Tuesday, January 17, 2006