I think a major factor in the societal happiness that you overlooked was physical comfort. I agree that Primitive cultures past and present may have a image of thier own life as being great. And we may look back and say, "Things were easier back then." But I feel the phrases that the World Database of Happiness use are wrong.
1. Health/Life Expectancy was probably an incident based thought as opposed to a regular thought. People were probably more concerned with getting better from illness than working "out" to promote general well being to prolong life.
2. Level of education/ literacy. True Greeks thought of education and expanding it. But primitive people were busy sustaining life. They used the same tools for thousands of years they obviously were not trying to learn better ways. As for literacy well that still does not take precendent in many third world countries today. If you count (and you should) pictographs as literary writing than I beleive that literacy was a small percentage of the population probably reserved for the ruling and religious class as it was until even recent times.
3. Access to Information. Well this one I agree with. People have been gathering together forever to learn from each other.
4. Average wealth. Wealth? 90+ f the world lives in a below poverty level even if you compare them only to a 100 mile radius of their home. It would be better that they then are described as majority rather than average. Because historically money has been used less than bartering/trade.
5. Democracy, political and individual freedom. Freedom is a modern concept. And only has been reletively wide spread for 400 years. Autonomus living, life under your beliefs and policies, would be a better description.
6. I assume you mean physical safety. I think it is included in both #1 Health and #5 Freedom.
7. Equality is relative to class. Many third world people feel equal to their class but would never dream of being of higher rank and place. I do not think that there are even many English who would want to be Queen of England.
The World Database of Happiness itself admits that it has only polled First and Former second world countries and few Third world countries. And only done historical studies for 15 countries which under thier definition means questioning the populous three times.
This sounds like a Database of Feeling rather than Fact.
Thank you for providing this forum.
I do love your site.
I have recently found this site and now spend at lest two hours a day reading from its well of discusssions. Keep up the great work.
