How governments can help create utopian societies
For millennia, humans have fantasized about those elusive, blissful places that offer one an opportunity to live life to the fullest; enveloped with safety, love and prosperity. In his noteworthy book “Utopia,” English social philosopher, lawyer and statesman Thomas More describes a fictitious island society in the southern Atlantic Ocean where everything is perfect. Though it was first published in 1516, he discusses plenty of fascinating concepts; from the importance of the welfare state to skilling people in essential trades, being in contact with nature through agricultural professions, limiting work to six hours daily, and encouraging citizens to value lifelong learning.
The search for utopia continues to this day, as governments are vying to be crowned among the happiest nations across the globe. The recently published World Happiness Report 2019 ranked 156 countries based on subjective happiness, with the Nordic countries topping the list. On the other hand, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Better Life Index takes a deeper approach to well-being by measuring what matters to people on a daily basis, including everything from jobs and earnings, housing and health to work-life balance, education and social connections.
It is important to point out that the top-performing countries in happiness indices also have strong economies, a productive workforce, and are rated highly on their public services. For example, the 2018 Global Happiness Policy Report concludes that every dollar spent on mental health prevention and treatment programs results in an extra $2.50 of gross domestic product (GDP), enabling more people to work longer and more productively. If you consider the aggregated government interventions throughout a person’s life, in the form of essential education, health care and social services, you will be able to appreciate the magnitude and impact of well-being policies on subjective well-being and economic contributions.
Measuring GDP is no longer considered the only determinant of a country’s success, as it cannot capture what truly matters in the subtleties of the human experience. That is why governments are increasingly relying on the field of behavioral economics to learn more about what contributes to people’s well-being and, thus, design public policies that are fitting. As such, research on happiness has been used to address pressing challenges, such as designing public spaces that maximize well-being, formulating economic policies that are family-friendly, and promoting personal health management in an effort to reduce the rates of chronic illnesses.
From New Zealand to Sweden, Australia and the UAE, more and more governments are augmenting their approaches to include citizens’ well-being as a key metric to the success of their public policy agendas. Interestingly, this thinking is gaining momentum worldwide and the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, which is a global consortium composed of various organizations and individuals, is leading a movement to replace the outdated economic model with one based on well-being.
New Zealand this year announced a world-first well-being-based budget — a novel approach that measures how national spending affects well-being. For 2019, the government has committed to improving child well-being, funding mental health programs, helping businesses transition to a sustainable, low-emissions economy, and lifting skills and incomes among its indigenous communities.
In 2016, the UAE government appointed a minister for happiness and well-being, who is leading efforts on embedding the concept of happiness within public policies, programs and services. The government has trained 60 chief happiness and positivity officers from federal and local governments on the science of happiness and how to promote it in their respective workplaces. It also recently established the Emirates Center for Happiness Research in collaboration with the UAE University, with the aim of conducting thorough research on the science of happiness and measuring happiness indices. The center is the first of its kind in the Middle East.
GDP is no longer considered the only determinant of a country’s success, as it cannot capture what truly matters in the subtleties of the human experience.
Sara Al-Mulla
Governments are also incorporating the concept of positive education within school curricula. The Geelong Grammar School in Australia was one of the first schools to experiment with this approach and has been cited as a model for positive education. Students are taught positive psychology classes to equip them with vital life concepts and skills, such as resilience, positive health, relationship management, purpose, gratitude, and optimism.
In Sweden, the nurturing concept of the state looking after citizens is fondly known as “folkhemmet” (people’s home). Sweden’s pioneering family policy has been around since 1974, allowing parents to enjoy 480 days off work to spend with each child, with 80 percent of their salaries paid for the first 390 days. This is one of the reasons Sweden has one of the highest employment rates in the OECD. However, only 1 percent of employees work more than 50 hours a week. In fact, in the last couple of years, Sweden has been experimenting with six-hour working days and has found that employees have been happier and more productive. That means that 63 percent of an average Swede’s time is spent on leisurely activities, social connections and resting, all of which boost well-being.
The field of positive psychology is empowering policymakers to design transformational and impactful solutions that empower individuals to live well. Creating a modern-day utopia may not be a fictitious aspiration after all.
- Sara Al-Mulla is an Emirati civil servant with an interest in human development policy and children’s literature.
