Happiness

Not very long ago, good governance was all about a progress process with lack of corruption. People wanted welfare and good luck for their offspring. Now things are seen a bit differently. People in the developed world have access to their indispensable needs such as vital medical services, good education, efficient transport systems, obtaining accommodation, supporting the vulnerable (e.g. the elderly, children, jobless people, patients, poor people) and so on. It seems people have basic welfare and a better apparent life, but credible surveys indicate that people are less satisfied than before. That is why the base of election campaigns between parties in those countries are not just about economic or political quarrels, but partly, it is about how they can boost the quality of life, and the concept of happiness is at its top. They announce their plans, explaining how they will manage to get a better life for everybody. The main question here is: what is a better life? In recent mainstream it represents quality life. Therefore you cannot measure it just by quantity parameters. More important is the level of quality parameters such as happiness or a system with more participatory citizens, more rights for minorities, etc.

In my next piece I will answer the questions, “What is happiness?” And “why people do not feel happier nowadays?”