Many of us have at least heard that the Scandinavian countries are among the 'happiest' in the world. This past year, Norway overtook the top place upon that list and moved Denmark from first place. However, what does is really mean to be a 'happy' nation atop the UN's list of happiest nations? Well, there is a prominent level of subjectivity to the UN's list, such as simply asking member nation citizens how happy they are, but also factoring in economic ideals such as GDP and measuring greater total wealth to a more comfortable standard of living. There are also other debates, such as whether the socialist economy of nordic nations or the cultural significance of daily indulgences helps. There also could be scientific evidence in the genes of these Nordic people which helps stave off depression all together. Whatever it may be, these nations consistently rank near the top each year, and the citizens are happy about it.
1.) Is it possible for a nation like the United States to replicate such levels of a measure of happiness, or are we too diverse and mixed among cultures to be satisfied as a nation?
2.) Is socialism a main generator of happiness due to slightly higher wealth spreads, or are things like this and GDP obsolete for happiness.
3.) What can we take from these nordic cultures?
I do believe that it is possible for the US to be happy as a whole, but it will not happen. I believe that something we are able to take away from these Nordic cultures is their style of day, and how they handle themselves.
ReplyDeleteI dont think America can achieve this because of how large and diverse the country is in social, economic and environmental terms. I believe socialist policies plays a huge role in a citizen's quality of life because it reinforces a common standard of living and protects people from serious economic adversity. One original Nordic policy we should adopt is universal healthcare.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Americans can achieve the level of happiness because of the difference in cultures. Nordic cultures seem to be more satisfied and content with their status. Americans, however, are always unhappy with something and the strive for perfection is counter productive. It is unfortunate, but it's the truth. The culture must change if Americans want to be happy.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is possible for the US to achieve the level of happiness because of so many difficulties many Americans are facing.
ReplyDeleteI think some of the Nordic people's collective happiness comes from a feeling of unity and security. I believe that the US is too diverse to have that feeling of unity
ReplyDeleteI feel that America in its current state is impossible to make as happy as the Nordic countries. America is too divided and has too many social and economic problems
ReplyDeleteI think it would be virtually impossible for America to be considered among the "happiest" countries. America is too vast and there are too many people to become the happiest. Scandinavian countries can do so because they are smaller countries, so it is much easier for them to improve their population's satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteI do not think the US can replicate such levels of happiness for the Nordic people. I agree with Julianna that their happiness comes from unity and security and that the US cannot provide that for them.
ReplyDeleteI dont think that the same type of happiness is possible to achieve here in the US as it is over there. We have such a diverse amount of people living in the US it would be impossible for all of them to feel the same sort of unity and security to be as happy as the Nordic people
ReplyDeleteI do not think they we can because we are such a diverse nation. I agree with Nicole that American are always unhappy about something and always have something to complain about. I think if we want to be truly happy as a nation, there need to be some changes.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the US can be a happy place because we are such a diverse nation and theirs always something to complain about.
ReplyDeleteI dont think the US can be a happy nation to live in because we are so focused on the work life that it takes away from actually living.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the U.S. can be happy, however I don't think that America will be top ranking on the charts because it is so large of a country with such a massive population. I also think that socialism helps with happiness because it takes of a lot of financial stress.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the US can be as happy. The US has many issues right and many people that will never agree.
ReplyDeleteI believe that America could never be as happy as those other countries just because our population is so divided between so many things.
ReplyDeleteI would agree, but by being so diverse, is that more of a positive thing or a negative thing? It's hard to reconcile all different opinions whereas a nation like norway is very monocultural and therefore easier to manage.
DeleteI don't believe that the US can be happy at this point in time. As of right now the US is dealing with a lot of problems which is a big reason of not being able to be happy. I don't thing that socialism is the only generator of happiness due to slightly higher wealth spreads but I also think that GDP fits that mold of being a generator of happiness.
ReplyDeleteA nation divided among itself cannot stand. Just gonna leave it at that
ReplyDeleteI think that it is almost impossible for the United States to be one of the happiest nations. Because of all the diversity in the United States, nothing will be able to satisfy everyones happiness. Also, there are many other problems that need fixing before we can focus on making everyone happy.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the US could be just as happy as the Scandinavians. There's so much diversity in our nation, it's hard to please everyone. Also there are are too many issues that our country has yet to solve that in order to achieve the happiness level of those countries, a lot of changes would have to be made.
ReplyDeleteIt is not possible for us to replicate the happiness they have; we are too different with many cultural backgrounds and religious beliefs to truly be happy.
ReplyDeleteAs others have said, I do not believe that the US as a nation could replicate the happiness that the Scandinavians have. Our country is too power driven and hungry for success to be extremely happy. There is also a lot of inequality within peoples wages and living conditions. Everyone is so different, that we would have to have a plethora of options to suit everyone's needs and it would become too difficult to keep track of.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that the US can replicate their happiness. US is so much different in society and the culture we have are completely different as well.
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