Capitalism vs. Socialism: Happiness Could Care Less »
Posted By Eagle_Eye 5 months, 1 week ago in Health & FitnessSocialist or capitalist, new research argues that being bailed out feels better than going under.
Socialist or not, one might argue that being bailed out feels better than going under, personally, industrially and nationally. At least in the short run.
A new analysis of the happiness, or more specifically the "life satisfaction," of people living in parts of Europe in the 1990s as the Iron Curtain fell sheds more light on how our personal feelings of well-being respond to socialism, capitalism and big economic transitions.
The work, in short, suggests that our personal economic stability might be more important to life satisfaction (a measure of happiness or well-being) than the Gross Domestic Product, and the type of socioeconomic or political order in which we live. In other words, free market capitalism only works when it works. When it doesn't, some form of socialism (and its guarantees of employment, education and health care) can look attractive.
The research on former Communist-bloc nations was done by economist Richard Easterlin of the University of Southern California, a long-time scholar on "happiness economics." He is responsible for the "Easterlin Paradox," which concludes that more money makes us happier, but only up to a point. Once we are lifted out of poverty, more money does nothing to increase our happiness. A handful of economists disagree with this and say more money makes us more happy, though more slowly as our prosperity grows.
Anyhow, Easterlin's latest work focuses on life satisfaction (subjects were asked "All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?").
He finds that life satisfaction correlated in a bad way with the initial collapse of GDP (gross domestic product) after socialism was abandoned in 13 Eastern, Central and Southern European nations in the 1990s (including Russia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic). During the transitional years, GDP fell by 50 to 85 percent of 1989 levels within a few years in a downturn that affected 400 million people. Later in the decade, GDP recovered slowly but life satisfaction didn't keep up. The social response to the downturn was bad in Russia, for instance, according to a 2005 study by Brainerd and Cutler, cited by Easterlin — more divorce, suicides, domestic violence, alcoholism and drug use.
Income went up during the 1990s for many, but bigger disparities in income opened up. And those income increases were outweighed, in terms of life satisfaction, by losses in employment security, as well as health, senior and child care, that had previously been covered under socialism, Easterlin writes.
It was not until 2005, when GDP recovered to early 1990 levels or better, that life satisfaction started to catch up, he found. The results are forthcoming in the August 2009 issue of the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.
It reminds one of candidate Bill Clinton's campaign mantra in 1992: "It's the economy, stupid." Only with more nuance.
Easterlin found that the opportunity to enjoy the economic freedoms of capitalism was less critical to life satisfaction than one's personal economic stability, and that rising GDP is not enough, after a downturn, to restore happiness.
More critical to happiness are everyday socio-economic matters such as "do we all have jobs?" and "do we have health care, old age care and child care?" and "will our family manage to stick together through this?"
In American, we'll feel happier once the economy recovers, but don't draw any huge conclusions about socialism and capitalism from all this, Easterlin said.
"So far, we have very little scientific empirical study bearing on whether socialists are happier than capitalists," he said. "However, what my paper suggests is that there are elements of 'socialism' that appear to have more directly addressed important concerns of the 'average person' ... and that if we are interested in promoting well-being we might learn from the study of experience under 'socialist' regimes, as well as 'capitalist.'"
Do we all spend too much time obsessing about political matters, when really the focus should be securing everyday socio-economic matters?
Easterlin says: "As my paper notes, the ... evidence such as that for the transition countries does not seem to suggest an important effect on happiness of democratization, and indeed when people in countries throughout the world are asked about what makes them happy, they rarely mention political concerns. Yet, in my personal view, political and civil rights are important. So my answer is that we would do well to start paying attention to happiness, but we should not assume that it is in itself the last word on well-being."
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Eagle_Eye
I am a female who has lived a complex life with complex situations and have learned a lot from my experiences.
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Eagle_Eye5 months, 1 week ago
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If your happy in your life and have a positive attitude then you are a more healthy and productive person with less health problems.
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Just fix the current medical system because what we have now isn't working. Cancer is "BIG" business as are other diseases, many of which companies make HUGE profits off of peoples distress. -
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simonsez5 months, 1 week ago
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Our concept of the world around us is psychological and we tend to believe what we are told, particularly if the teller has real credibility.
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Unfortunately, it's difficult to find that credible person in this day and age. Like the old program "who do/can you trust"? -
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beavith15 months, 1 week ago
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silly article.
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no one would reasonably compare 'economic happiness' in a stalinist 'socialism' with american style capitalism.
now, if we watched sweden or finland drop socialism in favor of american style capitalism, THAT may mean something.
its not prop worthy. its not drop worthy. -
hefaa1Comment removed: Hard Banned
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coolrayfruge5 months ago
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Iread this web site that claims;Freedom cannot exist without capitalism.
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What a bunch of sh*t.
I say Freedom can't exist in a capitalist society!
The Definition of Freedom is without restraint.
And Money is a restraint.
Manufactored and controled by the Federal government ,to control our living.
I also believe it is what drives countrys into communism and socialism.
Cause every country that turned communist or socialist was first a run by a monarchy capitalist society.
Because the greed that is fueled by Money pushes us in that direction. -
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coolrayfruge5 months ago
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It starts with depriving people of their God Freedom as living beings on this Planet to live Freely off the land and use its recources freely.
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Money is their form of control over the people.
To make them serve. By making them dependent on money for everything.
You want proof ,look at the recession were in.
It show how much control they have.
Its like the Farmer who fattens up the cows before bringing them into the market for slaughter
We are their consumer cash cows.
They milk us for their living. -
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coolrayfruge5 months ago
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The Banks,The Morgage companys ,The IRS,The loan companys,the wealthy elite has taken over our country, our lives..
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All with their legalized scams to loanshark and exstort the people.
We are their Consumer Cash cows.
People were stupid enough to get sucked into their loans scams and their false promises of a better life for us.
It was a deal with the devil.
People got careless, it was deal to good to be true.then the fact that these businesses could raise the interest on those debts making it hard for the people to pay it off.
People were hanging themselves with their own selfish greed.
Now the government has the excuse they needed to come in with new laws deprive the people of their constitional rights and Freedom.
We sold out our Freedom for convienence and false security.
Trusted them.
Hell,why shouldn't they take advantage us.
if were so gulliable to let them get away with it.
For the Businesses its open season on the consumer.
I don't want to live in a capitalism or communism or socialism society. I just want My Freedom.
To be able to support myself and to provide on my own.
I sick and tired of the hardship put on us.
I just want to move out into the woods and get away from it all.
It is hard enough for man to live in this world without the help of the system to make it harder,
If a man is to a fail let it be without the help of the systems F.U.B.A.R. standards, regulations and high cost of living. -
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