Can happiness be determined by political policy?

Can happiness be determined by political policy?

A british politician recently argued that a government’s focus should not just be on Gross Domestic Product (or the economy) but also on General Well Being (e.g. health and happiness)!

If you’re interested in reading the full article just click here.

But can we legislate for something like happiness?

To be honest, I’m not really sure…but only because noone’s ever really tried before. Governments create legislation for a range of other things they think are important and/or in the general good. Specific behaviours, for example, are deemed illegal. Specific products (such as cigarettes) are deemed unhealthy. So why shouldn’t certain behaviours that lead to unhappiness (which is not in anyone’s interests) be defined in some way as ‘socially unacceptable”?

Any thoughts?