Modern democratic society requires basic equality. Our Founding Fathers understood this point when they drafted the Declaration of Independence with the radical statement, in its time: “All men are created equal.” Citizens must feel that they have a say in political decisions, that they are represented in some way. Citizens must also feel that they have an opportunity to “win” sometime in the future, even if their causes and candidates “lose” today. The opportunity to change government and policy based on citizen interests is central to democracy, and it requires a foundation in interpersonal equality.

Danny Dorling’s provocative book expands upon these insights. He argues that “human beings are happier and healthier the more equal they are.

One might note that the high point of American power (absolute as opposed to relative, after the collapse of the USSR) coincides with peak of oil production in the US, and that the sudden rise in American pathologies coincides fairly closely with the oil crises of the 70s and early 80s, for example. Hustling, eternal growth, works when cheap energy is readily available, when more, more, more is possible, and when growth is choked, the hustlers, rather than growing the pie, turn on each other in a vicious “war of all against all”.

I talked to a few friends and asked them what they thought about happiness, if I were to quote them, what would they say?

America’s government may be the first one in the history of the world that started out with the expressly stated goal of making its citizens happy. Jefferson set out “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence. Madison added “to promote the general welfare” to the six purposes of government in the Constitution’s preamble. Both believed that democracy was the system most likely to deliver on the promise of helping people live happier lives.