As Britain publishes its first 'national wellbeing indicators', OurKingdom wraps up our debate on happiness. Here, the editor of the debate looks back on the series of articles inspired by the growing interest in happiness shown by politicians, economists, statisticians and psychologists.
Happiness is a far more complicated thing to measure than income, but we capture an important dimension of well-being when we look at individual capacity to pursue a meaningful life.
The happiness agenda imagines people as individuals living constantly in the now. But in this age of uncertainty, there is a pressing need to recognise the importance of history, relationships, identity and agency to personal wellbeing
Democratic states want to prove their success to their citizens and one way to do this is to incorporate the feedback from them about their 'wellbeing'. Is personalised government about making citizens happy or pleasing the state?
What do we need to be happy? The satisfaction of our basic needs? Independence? A positive lifestyle? Yes, says Matt Grist, but we must look beyond the individual towards deeper, narrative forms of happiness
The danger of the well-being movement is that it could lead to us being spoon-fed advice on how to live. Yet the art of living may be the most rewarding subject to teach and learn, as long as adults and children are given the opportunity to challenge this advice, and hold it to account
The happiness 'movement' has the potential to transform society, but do its proponents know what they're doing? William Davies sets out four strands of the debate - philosophical, statistical, economical and psychological - and shows how confusion between them is hindering progress
How much happiness does spending on the arts buy us? Which cultural pursuits are the most effective? And are these the questions the UK should be asking in formulating our arts policy?
We are told that a healthy happy citizen must enjoy "meaning, mastery and autonomy". Cameron's Big Society requires citizens to be innovative and not averse to risk. Yet can we become happy and playful in a climate of economic insecurity?
Diane Coyle’s The Economics of Enough is an eerily calm introduction to the severity of our economic situation. While the facts outlined appear to justify an overhaul of our entire political economy, the book leaves us with disappointingly timid proposals for change.
