It has just come to my attention that on July 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution about happiness. Unlike many matters that concern the UN, this resolution was unanimously supported.
Among the ideas set forth in the resolution are the following, thoroughly consistent with recent theorizing and research in positive psychology:
1. The pursuit of happiness is a fundamental and universal human goal.
2. The gross domestic product of a nation does not adequately reflect the happiness and well-being of its citizens.
3. Nations should develop measures of happiness and well-being and use them to guide their national policies.
Whether this resolution will actually lead to initiatives that increase happiness in the world, I do not know. Hard work awaits all who would want to make it so. Regardless, the resolution is important because it shows, yet again, that happiness and its pursuit are not narrowly Western concerns. Moreover, happiness and its pursuit are not guilty luxuries of interest only to the affluent.
Given the strong relationship between the freedom of a nation and the happiness of its citizens (Inglehart, Foa, Peterson, & Weizel, 2008), the UN resolution on happiness may be more revolutionary than intended, because an obvious way to bolster happiness is to encourage freedom, locally and globally.
References
Happiness should have greater role in development policy - UN Member States (2011, July 19). UN News Centre. Document available on the Worldwide Web at http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39084.
Inglehart, R., Foa, R., Peterson, C., & Weizel, C. (2008). Development, freedom, and rising happiness: A global perspective, 1981-2007. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 264-285.
