Is the Gross National Product (GNP) really the best measure of a country? Obviously it fails to take other values into account. Martin Seligman, author of Learned Optimism as well as the more recent book, Authentic Happiness, proposes a new measure. It's called the National Well-Being Index.
The Authentic Happiness website has other interesting articles. Seligman is a cognitive psychologist whose studies found that optimism is a great predictor of health and longevity. Other studies (sorry, have lost the source) suggest that optimism is a big factor in avoiding Alzheimer's. Seligman's book, Learned Optimism, teaches how to change thought patterns to optimistic ones. His definitions and descriptions are very clear and specific. Optimistic thinking is something any of us can learn to do.
In Authentic Happiness, Seligman summarizes studies showing that - guess what - money can't buy happiness. A country's GNP bears little or no relationship to the happiness of its citizens. And after certain minimum standards are met, additional income doesn't change the "happiness quotient" of individuals and families either.
So the GNP, while relevant to economics and business, is a poor way to measure the wellbeing of a nation and its citizens. Seligman's proposal, if carried out, could have a great effect on politics and culture. After all, here in the USA we are officially granted permission for "the pursuit of happiness."
6:15:05 PM 
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