Liberal
countries have more satisfied citizens while conservatives are happier
individuals
People living in more
liberal countries are happier on average than those in less liberal countries,
but individually, conservatives are happier than liberals no matter where they
live, according to a study of people in 16 Western European countries.
"Liberal
governments tend to do more to shield citizens against certain hardships, such
as unemployment and poverty, which can make people feel happier overall,"
said the study's lead author, Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn, PhD, of Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey.
"On the other hand, conservatives rate their
well-being higher than liberals because conservatives more readily support and
rationalize the status quo, thus, believing that socioeconomic hardships are a
result of individual shortcomings." The study appears online in the
American Psychological Association's Journal
of Applied Psychology.
Overall, people living
in countries with more liberal policies reported higher life satisfaction than
those in countries with less liberal policies, irrespective of their own
political views, according to the study. The more conservative citizens reported
higher life satisfaction than their liberal counterparts, regardless of their
government's political leanings.
The differences in
happiness ratings between individuals and countries were evident when
researchers compared how people rated their own life satisfaction with each
country's welfare policies.
For example, when researchers looked at what a
country does for its citizens, greater liberalism corresponded with higher
well-being, but when researchers looked at citizens' political beliefs, greater
liberalism corresponded with poorer life satisfaction, said Okulicz-Kozaryn.
The researchers
analyzed surveys collected from 1,134,384 people between 1970 and 2002 in
France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland,
the United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Austria and
Norway. The surveys were representative samples of each country's population.
This data set is part of a series of public opinion surveys conducted on behalf
of the European Commission.
To determine if a
country was politically liberal or conservative, the researchers looked at ease
of access to services such as pensions, sickness benefits and unemployment
compensation.
They also examined each country's level of spending on welfare,
which is found in a report produced by the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development. Sweden was often cited as being the most liberal
country, with more public welfare services, while countries such as Ireland,
France and Portugal were found to be more conservative.
In general Scandinavian
countries were the happiest countries and were also the most liberal.
Denmark
was consistently the happiest country in the study.
The surveys also had
each person rate his or her level of personal life satisfaction on a scale from
"not at all satisfied" to "very satisfied." To determine
individual political orientation, each participant rated his or her political
views as being somewhere from very liberal to very conservative.
"Our findings are
important to governments and organizations because they underscore the impact
that these two entities have on one another," said Okulicz-Kozaryn.
"Politics is everywhere, and our findings suggest that citizens are best
served when governments and organizations work together by instituting policies
that have been shown to increase citizens' well-being.
For example, if
governments do not enact sufficient policies that protect citizens from
underemployment, the expected decreases in well-being can have an effect on
employees' productivity within organizations."
Story Source:
The above story is
based on materials provided
by American Psychological Association (APA). Note: Materials may be edited for
content and length.
Journal
Reference:
1.
Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn, Oscar Holmes, Derek R. Avery. The Subjective Well-Being
Political Paradox: Happy Welfare States and Unhappy Liberals. Journal of Applied Psychology,
2014; DOI: 10.1037/a0037654
Cite This Page:
·
MLA
·
APA
·
Chicago
American Psychological
Association (APA). "Liberal countries have more satisfied citizens while
conservatives are happier individuals." Science Daily, 9 September 2014.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140909112706.htm>.
