History of Happiness Studies

History of Happiness Studies

Economics, the "dismal science," has traditionally been concerned with the competition between supply and demand, and concerns itself more with the market than with people. But 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.

Lionel Robbins

In the early 1900s, economics was further challenged by the English economist, Lionel Robbins. He disagreed with traditional economics, and felt that the economy should take its impacts on people into deeper consideration, moving more towards the personal focus. In 1932, he published Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science, and argued that it is not necessary to know or compare a person's level of happiness in order to predict his or her behavior. Economics, to Robbins, is about "the relationship between given ends and scarce means".