Posted on 08/01/2007 7:59:36 AM PDT by WesternCulture
New research shows us that people around the world, including in the West, are satisfied with their lives and are enjoying a rising quality of life. So why are westerners so pessimistic, asks Nima Sanandaji, of think-tank Captus.
Our planet is a happier place these days. That, at least, is what the Pew Research Center is telling us. Their latest survey of global attitudes in 47 nations has found a number of trends that are worth analyzing.
According to Pew, people in the developing world are growing ever more satisfied with their personal and financial situations. In Latin America, 59 percent report that they consider themselves to have a high quality of life, compared to 44 percent in 2002. In Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa the corresponding figures have risen by 11, 5 and 3 percentage points respectively compared to 2002.
In the US and Western Europe, the figures remain the same as in 2002. US citizens, however, still seem to enjoy the highest quality of life – 65 percent of them claim to do so, compared to 53 percent in Western Europe. Americans are also those most satisfied with their family incomes. 76 percent claim to be so, a rise from 74 percent in 2002. Only 65 percent of Western Europeans give the same response, down from 69 percent in 2002. In most poor countries, satisfaction with family income is on the rise.
According to the survey, people in countries in which GDP per capita has risen markedly in recent years rate theirs lives and national conditions far more favourably compared to five years ago. This is particularly true in Latin America, Eastern Europe, China and India. This is a trend that those who support free market policies should remember – liberating economies do not only foster growth and development, but by doing so they also spread happiness. What was the last socialist reform to make you smile?
Negativity about the prospects for the next generation is commonplace. Fully 80 percent of the French believe that when their children grow up, they will be worse off than today. Substantial majorities in many other developed nations share this notion, although none are as pessimistic as the French. In China only 6 percent believe that the next generation will be worse off, whilst 86 believe that they will be better off. This optimism is widespread amongst many poor countries.
Looking at human history and the current rate of development, it is far more likely that the next generation will live longer and have substantial economic advantages compared to us. So why the pessimism in the West? Fear of environmental disaster is one plausible reason as to why westerners believe that their children will be worse off.
Lastly, the Pew survey found that in predominately Muslim nations the number saying that suicide bombings and other forms of violence against civilians are justifable in the defence of Islam is continuing to decline. In Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia and Lebanon, the proporiton of Muslims who view such attacks as being often or sometimes justified has declined by half or more over the past five years.
In 2002, 33 percent of the Muslims in Pakistan claimed that suicide bombings were often or sometimes justified, in 2007 only 9 percent made that claim. In Lebanon the corresponding figures have dropped from 74 to 34 percent. There is still some support for terrorism, as 70 percent in the Palestinian territories believe that suicide bombings against civilians can be often or sometimes justified (corresponding data does not exist for this in 2002). But the trend is pointing in the right direction.
Rising satisfaction with quality of life and family income in the developing countries, combined with less support for suicide bombings amongst the Muslim nations, are indeed important trends. And good news. Perhaps the latest global survey by Pew will inspire some optimism among the pessimists in the West.
I believe it’s because there is a sense that once you “have it all,” there is nowhere else to go but down.
Because the media tells me how to feeeeeeeel.
True that. It may also be tied to the fact that rich, comfortable people no longer have financial difficulties to justify that empty feeling. And, in the West, the boomers are starting to look back at a life and a culture fueled by their narcissism and realizing that they really blew it.
It is, but it can explode into violence and total thermonuclear war any day. Also, oil is riding up the cost curve and doesn't appear to have any way to back down. It's happy, but could end any minute. Everybody on the planet knows this.
Everything will be just fine once the Smartest Woman in the World becomes the next POTUS ... /s
It survived the Black Death and gave birth to the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and modern science. It has survived centuries of wars raging on the European continent and two world wars. Despite the destruction of WWII, Europe went from devastation to prosperity in ten years with the help of her brothers and sisters across the Atlantic Ocean and together we defeated Communism.
Today we are engaged in a war on terror.
Business as usual.
We will prevail, the enemies of human progress and true civilization will go under.
but but but global warming! worst economy ever! Abu Ghraib! Gitmo! Chimpy Mchitlerburton and Darth Cheney are still in power!Everything is bad bad bad! They MUST be lying, because the MSM says things are just HORRIBLE! The MSM wouldn’t LIE to us, now would they?
/need I?
Because the only manufacturing category not in crisis in America is the crisis manufacturing area. The libs want to gain more and more control and the best way to do that is to keep the population alarmed.
the media.
9-11
illegal immigration
radical takeover of our institutions
cultural decay.....massive illegitimacy...celebrated thuggery everywhere.....Drooges Rule
all that is depressing
Because George Bush is president.
The media, no matter what the news, always points to the cloud around the silver lining.
People watch too much news which only shows the bad stuff. You never see the news showing a happy family at a picnic playing with the kids.
Heard it said one time “If you want to be happy, stop watching any news for two weeks. You will see a totally different life.”
Lack of a moral center in many people lives. Loss of faith in God, family, and America.
Whenever I see Barak, Hillary, or Julie Annie in the papers or on the news, I feel a little down...
I think it’s because everyone I know has credit card debt that isn’t going to be paid off any time soon....
Snort! You made me spew all over the keyboard! ;-)
LACK OF GOD IN OUR LIVES.
LLS
Boy that's true. I get my news from the Wall St Journal and from Free Republic. Sure, Free Republic contains some sad and terrible stories but I don't find this a depressing site at all.
On rare occasions I will watch my local network news on TV. It's just fires, and kidnappings, and murders, and home invasions, and body bags, and ecological disasters. Oh, and our sports team won.
Why do people watch that? It's not the real world. The real world is (mostly) pretty good. The News folks just gather up all the crap they can find and spoonfeed it to us. No thanks.
If things are so good, then why are we so pessimistic?
Easy. Because we are making decision that feel good in the short term that will come back to bite us in the ARSE in the long term—and everyone knows it. Pick a topic: from Social Security to Illegal Immigration to Abortion to Outsourcing to appeasement in the GWOT. We are not solving the hard problems, just kicking them down the road. I think 40-50 years ago, people really tried to solve problems. Now, we feel if we can spin something the right way, we have succeeded. I think they party will finally be over once all the Baby Boomers retire.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.