What's on England's Mind Today, Part 1 (National Happiness)

Britain will soon begin “measuring people’s psychological and environmental well-being” — i.e., their happiness. “British officials say there is still hesitation in some parts of Whitehall over going ahead with the programme during such difficult economic times,” reports The Guardian, “but [David] Cameron is said to want to place the eventual results at the heart of future government policy-making.” “David Cameron was very clear in opposition this would be what he would do and even in tough times it’s just as relevant an agenda,” says a Downing Street source. “The purpose of GDP is ultimately to help people lead more satisfactory lives and it is as important during a downturn as during a boom.” Nicolas Sarkozy, the?French president, announced plans to measure happiness and well-being last year in response to a call from Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen for “world leaders to move away from a purely economic concept of gross domestic product.” [%comments]