All content of this website is under copyright and subject to all laws thereof. If you are unsure how to properly cite copyrighted material, refer to your style manual or feel free to e-mail me at bookcrazed@yahoo.com. Commentary by Janice Stensrude These short pieces were intended as side bars to the Alan Davidson interview "Money and Happiness: The Mind-Pocketbook Connection," but they were cut before publication. |
The United Nations Weighs In After years of studying why people are unhappy, positive psychology is in vogue. Having dissected the substance of human misery, psychologists are now teasing apart the elements of human ecstasy. Everyone is jumping on the happiness bandwagon. Health & Happiness Web Magazine promises that, for the price of a subscription, you can learn how to find happiness. A book titled The Happiness Diet promises “a sharp brain, balanced mood, and lean, energized body.” And now the United Nations has joined the fray with their World Happiness Report released earlier this year.
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Examining a group of countries that rank high in terms of Gross National Product (GNP), there are noticeable disparities between GNP rankings and happiness rankings. Denmark is ranked happiest, followed by Finland, Norway, The Netherlands, and Canada. Among these, only Norway is among the top ten nations in average GNP per person. In fact, seven of the top ten countries in the UN’s happiness rankings are far happier than their GNP per person (GNP/capita) would suggest.
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