4 ms·
> It’s an interesting idea, but how would you measure happiness? This (the measuring, at least) is mostly a solved problem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worl
by Jedd 5y ago
> It’s an interesting idea, but how would you measure happiness?
This (the measuring, at least) is mostly a solved problem.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report
- randmeerkat 5y ago> This (the measuring, at least) is mostly a solved problem. I disagree. I’m familiar with the world happiness report. I don’t think that would be an adequate measurement to replace GDP with.
- ClumsyPilot 5y ago"adequate measurement to replace GDP with" There seems to be annunderlying assimption that GDP is a good meaurement? In UK we had reduction of life expectancy, wages, trade and production of physical goods while GDP grew. The only sources of GDP growth seem to be never-ending rise of house prices and inequality.
- randmeerkat 5y agoI’m not arguing that there aren’t problems with benchmarking society against GDP, there are. What I’m asking is, what is a better measurement? If it is something like happiness, then how do we quantify that in a meaningful way?
- ClumsyPilot 5y agoTrying to reduce society to one number is pure folly, but if you had to pick one, it would have to be quality of life-based metrics, surely? We already use them in medicine.
- randmeerkat 5y agoSure, but the original comment that spawned this thread was comparing happiness and GDP.
- ganeshkrishnan 5y agoHappiness is a direct co-relation to GDP. The growth of a civilization is directly as a result of GDP. For example being in nature brings you happiness. BUT this is only in well developed countries and among people with enough wealth to live comfortably. Money does not make you happy but it gives you much more opportunity to be happy.
- randmeerkat 5y ago> Happiness is a direct co-relation to GDP. The growth of a civilization is directly as a result of GDP. That’s actually not correct. By that argument the happiest country should be the United States as it has the largest GDP. However the United States ranks #19 on the World Happiness Report: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/happiest-countries-in-the-world https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/happiest-...
- ganeshkrishnan 5y agoI should have been more specific: GDP per capita is one of the most important part of a person's happiness. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gdp-vs-happiness https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gdp-vs-happiness Chart above clearly shows that mostly increase in GDP results in higher life satisfaction.
- randmeerkat 5y ago> Chart above clearly shows that mostly increase in GDP results in higher life satisfaction. That chart clearly shows a handful of countries happier than the US with less GDP per capita…
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]