Is happiness a right or is it just an ideal state? If it is a goal, how do we know when we’ve reached it? If the happiness lasts only a short time and then disappears, is the goal still reached?
The United States in unique among countries in that it has enshrined the right to pursue happiness in its Constitution. Philosophers argue that the very idea of pursuing happiness is in itself guaranteed to make us unhappy.
As debated as the concept of happiness is, it seems fair that we should all be free to pursue it if and when we wish, no matter how old we get.
Happiness at any age
The World Happiness Report always makes waves when it is released each year. It is unique among similar studies because it concentrates on how happy people actually perceive themselves to be rather than how happy they should be given their circumstances.
People participating in the Gallup World Poll are asked to imagine their own position on a ladder with steps from 0 to 10. The top of the ladder is the best possible life and the bottom is the worst possible life. Researchers then investigate the relationship of six country level factors to the ladder scores – gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust in government and generosity.
Nordic countries have ranked highly for many years. Since the report was first published in 2012, both Denmark (2012, 2013, 2016) and Finland (2018, 2019, 2020) have been in the number one spot three times.
So, what is the secret sauce? In the 2020 report, these two countries are amongst the:
- Top 5 rankings in social support
- Top 6 rankings in freedom to make choices
- Bottom 5 rankings in perceived government corruption
- Top 23 rankings in GDP per capita
The rankings bear out the idea that money doesn’t buy happiness, but it helps. What helps more, however is social support, freedom to pursue dreams and a generally trustworthy government. This is why people small countries like Finland and Denmark are significantly happier than people in far richer countries like the United States.
Right to happiness in old age
It’s not easy for older persons. Bodies don’t work as they once did, friends and family move away, and environments are constantly changing. Remaining happy is much easier when some of the following are in place:
- social connections and support of an age friendly environment
- freedom to pursue new things, like the world’s oldest iPhone app developer or Seniors Planet entrepreneurs.
- programs, like Choose to Move, where older persons choose the physical and social activities they like to do versus being told what to do
- towns, like Pescueza, that find new ways to thrive and create a happy home for their older persons, despite de-population
- government ministers whose mandates and portfolios are dedicated to needs of older persons
Safeguarding an older person’s right to happiness is a major driver for the development of a convention for the rights of the older person. We are aging very differently today than we did in 1948 and our current Universal Declaration of Human Rights does not account for the needs of today’s older persons. The world has developed in leaps and bounds over the past 70 years. We must make sure older person’s rights do as well.
