Hello Fellow Hedonists,
According to the World Values Survey, overall, the world is getting happier. More people are happier today than was the case 25 years ago; the survey found increased happiness from 1981 to 2007 in 45 of 52 countries analyzed. As usual, Denmark, Columbia and Puerto Rico top the charts. The United States maintains about the same relative position (19 out of 96) as it did in the 2000 survey. Countries whose respondents reported high levels of happiness were much likelier to be democracies than were countries that rank lower in terms of their citizens' happiness. Apparently, there is a strong correlation between happiness, economic development (this is distinct from wealth, y'all) and democracy!
Excelsior!
C.L.Sosis
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