History of Happiness Studies

History of Happiness Studies

Even from the time of Aristotle, the importance of happiness in one's life has long been recognized. Many important economists and philosophers have included the concept of happiness in their works.

Jeremy Bentham

In the 18th century, Jeremy Bentham, a leading English jurist, philosopher, and social and legal reformer, proposed that public policy should maximize happiness in society. In other words, the policies of the government should help to make its citizens happier! This lead to the development of economics as a study of utility of happiness.

Bentham and his "utilitarian" economics were very influential on welfare policies.

It assumed that happiness can be compared accurately across different people. It also assumed that the utility of income is greater for rich people- in other words, richer people are happier. Thus, an important component of the welfare policies influenced by utilitarian economics tried to redistribute income so that it is more equal.