An (as yet unfinished) collection of essays exploring the question of how to get the most out of life.

As you read these essays keep in mind they are just that -- essays. They reflect my personal views derived from what I have experienced, observed, and read. I have strived for accuracy but, since this is not a scholarly or academic endeavor, felt no need to footnote. My objective is only to express my opinion and stimulate thought.

According to Aristotle, happiness is the "highest good," the ultimate end that humans strive for. All our actions, he argued, aim at some end. But every end, except for happiness, is only a stepping-stone toward some other end. People obtain an educational degree so they can get a job. They get a job so they can earn money. They earn money so they can buy food, shelter, clothing, entertainment, and other things. They buy these things, in part, so they can attract a romantic partner. They want a romantic partner so they can .... Well, you get the idea.

But the reason people want to be happy is -- so they can be happy. Happiness is the only end that is sought for itself and never for the sake of something else. It is a state of well-being that leaves nothing more to be desired. As such, it is the final goal of all human actions.

Americans consider the pursuit of happiness to be more than just an inherent attribute of human nature. To them, it is an inalienable right, a right so important it was worth revolting and waging a war to secure, a right upon which their nation was founded and which their government was designed, and is obligated, to preserve and promote:

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness -- That to secure these Rights ... it is the Right of the People ... to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, July 4, 1776

So how successful have Americans been in their pursuit of happiness? Compared to citizens of other countries, they rank within the top quartile. (The precise ranking depends upon the study/survey.) A 1999 study of 22 countries conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide found the United States was the third "happiest" nation (behind Denmark and Australia). The United States ranked 16th out of 65 nations in the 1999-2001 World Values Survey. (The top five countries, in terms of happiness, were Nigeria, Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, and Puerto Rico.)

The Good Old Days

A different picture emerges, however, when happiness levels are examined over time and the focus is shifted to unhappiness. Since 1950 the real income of Americans has more than doubled but they are less happy today than they were then. An analysis by economists David Blanchflower and Andrew Oswald shows that between the early 1970s and late 1990s the percentage of Americans who described themselves as "very happy" diminished from 34% to 30%. Other studies have found a similar decline. In 2003, the nationwide Harris "Feel Good Index" dropped for the fifth year in a row.

The decline in happiness has been matched by an increase in depression and suicide, most notably among the young and elderly. Depressive illness in the U.S. is occurring at younger ages and, by some estimates, is now three to 10 times higher than in the 1950s. Overall, the nation's suicide rate has risen at least 50% since the 1970s. From 1952-1995, the incidence of suicide among 15-24 year olds nearly tripled and, for that age group, suicide is now the third leading cause of death behind unintentional injury and homocide. The 10 year period from 1980-1990 was the first decade since the 1940s that the suicide rate for the elderly rose instead of declined. A 2000 study funded by BASF found that 22% of Americans were clinically depressed (12%) or unhappy (10%). A 2003 Harris poll revealed 21% of Americans had thought about suicide at some time during their lives and 7% had attempted it.

Since World War II, the United States has used Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as its primary scorecard of the nation's economic health and well-being. It has risen steadily. However, GDP is only an overall measure of consumption and investment and does not distinguish between transactions that improve well-being and those that reduce it. For example, unpaid work which is beneficial, such as household labor, child care, and volunteer work, is excluded from GDP because no money changes hands. On the other hand, money spent to recover from a natural disaster increases GDP; the expenditures are treated as an economic "plus" and the negative human and environmental impact of the disaster is disregarded.

Dissatisfaction with GDP's focus on the quantity of economic activity has led to the development of alternatives that measure quality of life and take the nation's social and environmental well-being into account. Two of these quality of life indicators, the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) and Index of Social Health (ISH), rose in parallel with GDP until the early to mid-1970s. At that point they began to diverge – GDP continued to increase while the GPI and ISH flattened out and then began a gradual decline, roughly corresponding to the trend in happiness levels.

In short, Americans do not hold the lead in the pursuit of happiness. They are not even maintaining their position; rather, they are losing ground. Likewise, their quality of life is getting worse despite increasing economic prosperity.

It's easy to dismiss nostalgic yearnings for the "good old days." People are inclined to remember the good and forget the bad and the pre-1950 "good old days" could be pretty bad. For example, my mother's first years as a teacher were spent at rural schools in remote locations in northern Canada. She spent the 1941-42 school year teaching in a one room schoolhouse located in the Peace River country of Alberta where winter temperatures reached 60 degrees below zero. Her "teacherage" and the adjacent school building were heated by wood stoves and had no telephone, electricity, running water, or inside plumbing. Her students were children of local farmers who walked, bicycled, or rode horses to school, some traveling many miles. My mother did not own a means of transportation so, if she wanted spend a weekend in Peace River town, which was seven miles away, she had to take the once-a-week train, hitch a ride, or walk. When it was cold, she had to haul her canned goods and anything else she wanted to protect from freezing to a neighbor's house before leaving and retrieve them upon her return.

Such living conditions would be considered primitive, perhaps even harsh, by today's standards. Yet mom retained fond memories of that period in her life. It was for her, a young single woman, a time of exciting adventures. It was also when she met my father. He was an American soldier stationed near Peace River town. Throughout the winter of 1942 he would regularly walk from his encampment in sub-sub-zero temperatures to see her. It was love at first sight and they married the following summer.

I doubt my parents would trade the life they eventually built for themselves for the "good old days." However, I'm not sure the same can be said for "baby boomers" like myself. Our perception of the good old days may be accurate. That's what the happiness and quality of life analyses indicate – that, as a group, we were in fact happier and had a higher quality of life in the 1950s and 60s than at present. If the downward trend continues, our children and subsequent generations may also end up with a past that is better, in terms of happiness and quality of life, than their future.