gone are the days when a woman’s second husband was the guy who killed the first. gone are the days when the dust cloud on the horizon meant your village, or your city, was about to get wiped out by the hoard. despite the obvious butchery of the 20th century, life gets better, for more people, over time. yes, and happier.
The people of rich countries tend to be happier than those of poor countries, but even controlling for economic factors, certain types of societies are much happier than others.
“The results clearly show that the happiest societies are those that allow people the freedom to choose how to live their lives,” Inglehart said.
“The events of the past 25 years have brought a growing sense of freedom that seems to be even more important than economic development in contributing to rising happiness,” Inglehart said. “Moreover, the most effective way to maximize happiness seems to change with rising levels of economic development. In subsistence-level societies, happiness is closely linked with in-group solidarity, religiosity and national pride. At higher levels of economic security, free choice has the largest impact on happiness.
