People in Denmark Are Much Happier Than People in the United States. Here’s Why.

[living sounds]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKuRiigagkU

 

[micaddict]

Them silly Danes just don't get it.

Who wants to be happy anyway?

 

[bluebird]

Are the Danish  just smarter... and overall better people than Americans? Do you think on a very small level Danes are physiologically more evolved? Maybe evolving towards some bird like creature while us Americans turn to lizards.

 

[living sounds]

Are the Danish  just smarter... and overall better people than Americans? Do you think on a very small level Danes are physiologically more evolved? Maybe evolving towards some bird like creature while us Americans turn to lizards.

Actually the notion of evolution as a progression to a higher being is fallacious. It is simply the process of natural selection, life adapting to the respective conditions.

But the conditions do determine how a society, a culture operates. In the US these conditions created a very specific, individualist culture.  A very specific type of government. We cannot rerun the experiment to see if the outcome would always be the same obviously. But the US has probably fallen victim to its own success in many ways.

 

[ruffrecords]

I don't think the advantages are limited exclusively to the Danes. Most European countries are similar. I think it is more a Europe/US thing.

Cheers

Ian

 

[micaddict]

I don't think the advantages are limited exclusively to the Danes. Most European countries are similar. I think it is more a Europe/US thing.

Cheers

Ian

Hey, that means I may be happy, too. 

 

[living sounds]

I don't think the advantages are limited exclusively to the Danes. Most European countries are similar. I think it is more a Europe/US thing.

Cheers

Ian

Absolutely.

 

[bluebird]

Well this just can't be true. If it were, we would obviously change our system to mimic yours. This has to be Danish/European propaganda.

 

[micaddict]

Yeah, fake news.

Ask the Donald.

 

[ruffrecords]

Well this just can't be true. If it were, we would obviously change our system to mimic yours. This has to be Danish/European propaganda.

Not really. the USA has a very Darwinian system - survival of the fittest. There is very little social support. Europe is older, been there, done that, knows it creates stress rather than happiness, and has moved on. WW2 was the catalyst I believe. Social barriers were torn down over two world wars, there was widespread deprivation, grief and death.  Ordinary folk realised they were worth as much as anyone else and set about raising the general standard of living for everyone. Socialism was born. The US experienced none of this so carried on the same.

Cheers

Ian

 

[bruno2000]

Do you know why the naval ships of Denmark have barcodes on them?
So they can Scandinavian.............
With apologies,
Bruno2000

 

[bluebird]

Not really. the USA has a very Darwinian system - survival of the fittest.

Oh I totally agree, I was being facetious. I wish we had a more socialist system here. If we keep moving in the direction we are going, we too will experience wide spread deprivation. Every facet of life in America is getting more extreme, somethings got to give.

There is very little social support.

Actually there is more than you might think, but it varies from state to state.  Some here think there is too much, and others like me, think there is not enough.

Europe is older, been there, done that, knows it creates stress rather than happiness, and has moved on. WW2 was the catalyst I believe. Social barriers were torn down over two world wars, there was widespread deprivation, grief and death.  Ordinary folk realised they were worth as much as anyone else and set about raising the general standard of living for everyone. Socialism was born. The US experienced none of this so carried on the same.

I never thought of it like that, very insightful.

 

[living sounds]

Not really. the USA has a very Darwinian system - survival of the fittest. There is very little social support. Europe is older, been there, done that, knows it creates stress rather than happiness, and has moved on. WW2 was the catalyst I believe. Social barriers were torn down over two world wars, there was widespread deprivation, grief and death.  Ordinary folk realised they were worth as much as anyone else and set about raising the general standard of living for everyone. Socialism was born. The US experienced none of this so carried on the same.

Cheers

Ian

I think socialism was invented a century earlier in Germany and Britain.

The reason for the historically unprencendented income and wealth equality in the postwar period was the destruction of capital during the wars. In the US the FDR administration thanks to wartime conditions was able to raise the tax burden on the wealthiest to a very high level, and they as well as subsequent administrations introduced a whole range of "socialist" policies.

But from the 70s onward the postwar stability lead to a new asymmetry, and the top 20 % used their growing power to influence policies toward a more unequal system. It happened everywhere in the industrialized world, but they were more successful in the US due to the policital system, cultural traditions and other factors specific to the US.

Without wholesale manipulation via gerrymendering, voting suppresion techniques, disinformation campaingns and the political system favouring regionality rather than population density etc. the US would of course be on an uninterrupted trajectory towards more "socialist" policies for more than 10 years now.

 

[Phrazemaster]

I think socialism was invented a century earlier in Germany and Britain.

The reason for the historically unprencendented income and wealth equality in the postwar period was the destruction of capital during the wars. In the US the FDR administration thanks to wartime conditions was able to raise the tax burden on the wealthiest to a very high level, and they as well as subsequent administrations introduced a whole range of "socialist" policies.

But from the 70s onward the postwar stability lead to a new asymmetry, and the top 20 % used their growing power to influence policies toward a more unequal system. It happened everywhere in the industrialized world, but they were more successful in the US due to the policital system, cultural traditions and other factors specific to the US.

Without wholesale manipulation via gerrymendering, voting suppresion techniques, disinformation campaingns and the political system favouring regionality rather than population density etc. the US would of course be on an uninterrupted trajectory towards more "socialist" policies for more than 10 years now.

That's a fascinating history, thank-you for sharing. I could simplify your explanation by saying "The Golden Rule" is in effect. "He who has the gold, makes the rules."

Sad.

 

[Phrazemaster]

I also believe that until we stop valuing some people more than others, our systems will remain fundamentally unfair. I read a statistic that the average CEO makes more in 1 hour than their average employee makes in a MONTH!!

I realize we value some things more highly than others, but that value should begin and end with things and not people ("should" being the idealistic naive operative here).

What if everyone was paid the same wage? Isn't everyone's life equally valuable? How is an hour of my life worth more, or less, than yours? We can quickly get caught up in arguing about whether what I am doing is "worth" as much as what you are doing in that hour, but back to the more fundamental issue - isn't all human life equally valuable, or sacred? Is it right to pay one person 1000x more than the next? Why should one person get so much more money for what they do?

I'm sure I'll get flamed on this, but when people are playing games and getting paid millions per year, and other people are cleaning toilets and getting a few thousand per year, there is something terribly wrong.

And no, not everyone has the same privilege of choice. I am not a good baseball player, and no matter how hard I tried, I'd never be as good as the pros. So I don't have an equal opportunity to do that work.

Equal pay for equal people. It says in our constitution "all men are created equal." (they are not). But we can value them all equally.

 

[Script]

Yes, more like a European versus American thing. But the Danes have 'hygge' to boot

 

[ruffrecords]

I also believe that until we stop valuing some people more than others, our systems will remain fundamentally unfair.

I think the flaw in your argument is the word 'equal'. It is such a poorly defined term that it can mean almost anything to anyone. People are quite clearly not equal in their abilities - some are cleverer than others, some are stronger, some are faster and so on. Worth is also a matter of perspective. It is not simply a matter of money. One measure might be the sadness caused by the loss of a person. I would be sad if you lost one of your children but I would be a lot more sad if I lost one of my own because they are worth more to me.

Cheers

Ian

 

[Phrazemaster]

I think the flaw in your argument is the word 'equal'. It is such a poorly defined term that it can mean almost anything to anyone. People are quite clearly not equal in their abilities - some are cleverer than others, some are stronger, some are faster and so on. Worth is also a matter of perspective. It is not simply a matter of money. One measure might be the sadness caused by the loss of a person. I would be sad if you lost one of your children but I would be a lot more sad if I lost one of my own because they are worth more to me.

Cheers

Ian

Agreed - but it is not a flaw in my argument, as I stated it. I said we should value each person's life and hours equally. Not that we are in any way equal. But life is precious, and so should be valued the same when it comes to compensation. JMHO.

 

[CJ]

actually their happiness is based in humility, knowing who you are and having zero expectations out of life, so that when you do get something, you are very happy, and never disappointed by what you do not get,

 

[Phrazemaster]

actually their happiness is based in humility, knowing who you are and having zero expectations out of life, so that when you do get something, you are very happy, and never disappointed by what you do not get,

There’s a saying. Happy people have what they want, and want what they have.