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Published on Sunday, November 6, 2011 by The Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1081436--struggling-to-find-happiness-in-the-age-of-austerity
by Olivia Ward
We’re fed up, teed-off, mad as hell. And we’re not going to take it any more.
But whoa.
While protests burst national boundaries and a wave of anger roils across the world, there’s a growing urge to measure national happiness, well-being and what people like about their lives.
Given the current sour mood, experts say, that could be a good thing.
If we know what makes people happy, it should be easier to know what plunges them into countrywide malaise.
So governments from tiny Bhutan to giant China, France, Britain, Bolivia, the U.S. and Canada are poring over statistics in the hope of finding the key to national content. An idea that might warrant a cynical shrug as economic indicators slither south and jobs follow.
Can we find happiness in the age of austerity?
“Some may wonder whether it is opportune to talk about well-being, rather than just focusing on the economic growth needed to get our countries out of this crisis,” says Angel Gurria, chief of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. “I strongly believe that . . . we have to consider a broader picture in our policy-making because a ‘growth as usual’ approach is simply not enough.”
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