The less happy among us

Except for the free newspaper MX Metroxpress, Politiken is Denmark’s largest-circulation daily (DK). In the past, it was associated with the Social Liberal Party. Now it is formally independent, but it still has a left-leaning political stance and its readership is decidedly sympathetic to socialistic currents in the country and the welfare state in general. One expression of this approach is a tendency to see victims everywhere, that is, to identify people as neglected or slighted and to showcase their plights. Of course the media have responsibility to identify injustice, analyze its origins and workings, and place the blame where it belongs. But Politiken’s treatment seems excessive.

I’m hardly the first to notice this phenomenon, but surveying some examples offers a curious angle on the ramifications of the “welfare society” that produces the highest relative happiness rankings in the world. Few of the opinions represent the newspaper’s own explicit editorial positions. Some reflect the journalist’s or commentator’s views, some belong to the subject of the pieces, and some are from letters to the editor. But they all reflect the kind of topic the paper wants to draw attention to (the paper has an English-language extract).

Disasters natural and man-made

So who are victims? I’m not referring to the obvious, indisputable cases covered by all newspapers: hurricane victims, earthquake victims, the persecuted Rohingya. Migrants who drown in the Mediterranean. Yemenis suffering from hunger, cholera and war. Sri Lankan children kidnapped and sold for adoption. Random shooting victims and residents of Copenhagen neighborhoods with gang wars. These people may be portrayed with more or less pathos and indignation, but they are not the type that Politiken specializes in. Here is a random sample from the past couple of weeks.

Students who feel compelled to take Ritalin and beta blockers because of pressure to perform. Families with more than three children, who because of an administration proposal would see their “child-check” reduced. One hundred and ten Siemens employees in Jutland who were laid off because jobs were moved to France and Germany. Train passengers who are delayed more than an hour and don’t get the free meal they’re entitled to according to an EU directive. Divorced men who miss out on those same “child-checks” because their children have their official address with their mother.

Jobless, pedestrians, girls, the EU

Children who are bullied at school, despite the decline from 25 percent to 10 percent over the past 20 years. Local citizens who must pay for the cleanup of a nature preserve polluted by the military. Young girls who don’t read a book everyday (41 percent instead of 32 percent seven years ago) because peer pressure makes them chat on social media instead. Quota refugees whose reception the Danish administration has postponed until 2018. The unemployed who are denied permanent disability benefits and forced to undergo job training because of a stricter policy. The mentally ill and handicapped who were not approved for aid by their municipalities and won on appeal.

Children seduced into becoming compulsive gamblers by computer games. Pedestrians on a new bridge over Copenhagen Harbor who are endangered by cyclists. The EU, which is being cheated out of EUR 5 billion in taxes by the likes of Google and Facebook. Civil servants who get emails from work on Sunday. People swindled into sending money for purchases of iPhones on Facebook. Senior citizens who want to supplement their low income with home equity loans and are rejected because their income is too low. Young women who have to live with emasculated men.

Smokers, politicians, nurses, trippers

Smokers on welfare who do not get a bonus for quitting smoking as other citizens do. Hospital employees who are overworked and hospital patients who are under-served because of a reduction of funding. An adoptee from India who is perceived as non-Danish. Children born to older mothers who have an elevated risk of ADHD. Politicians whose budget proposals are heavily criticized in the media. University students who can’t find an apartment or room to rent. Children whose parents won’t let them be vaccinated. The world, which will experience more hurricanes because of global warming.

Denmark, which will get a politically unqualified US ambassador. Alcoholics, who can’t get good treatment because Danish culture encourages overdrinking. The unemployed, who are subject to a longer qualifying period for benefits. Students who are abroad for more than one year and according to a legislative proposal would lose their stipend. The elderly, who do not receive adequate care in nursing homes. Babies who suffer from understaffing at day-care centers. Everyone who does not have access to psychedelics, which according to the chair of the Psychedelic Society should be a human right.

Universal basic well-being

I’m not saying that many of these things aren’t legitimate grievances. Only noting that there seems to be an endless supply and asking, in the welfare society, where do these purported human rights end? The Danish concept of “millimeter democracy” refers to a contest in which if one person gets favorable treatment, another person feels entitled to the equivalent, and the next in turn, ad infinitum, or at least until you have accumulated the world’s largest public sector. If it confers great happiness, why does it also produce so much resentment? What used to be known as the right to the pursuit of happiness often comes to be viewed as a right to every comfort and convenience, if not happiness itself. Why not just break out the soma?

Welcome to the happiest country

The Expat Insider 2017 report has just been released by Internations, the networking organization for expats (disclosure: to which I belong). It is an extensive annual poll that this year surveyed 13,000 respondents in 65 countries on the basis of 43 factors. It is interesting to compare the results with those of the international happiness surveys because the results differ greatly. For those who consider moving or posting abroad, this report may be more relevant as an indication of what to expect when living in a country than the surveys of native populations.

Recall that in the World Happiness Report (WHR), the same group of countries filled the top ten spots year after year: almost exclusively northern European countries and smaller (population-wise) Anglo countries such as Australia. The overall ranking in the Expat Insider (EI) report is called “Top Destinations,” and the top three this year are Bahrain, Costa Rica and Mexico. The results are also much more volatile; Bahrain moved up from No. 19 in 2016. Without considering the size of the sample or whether the methodology is as rigorous, we can expect expats’ opinions to vary and change as a matter of course because they are on the move and in the process of adjusting to a foreign setting.

Slicing and dicing life abroad

The survey breaks the results down into several indices (shown in the left-hand column below). Each of the indices, in turn, is based on rankings according to more specialized parameters. For example, Quality of Life comprises Leisure Options, Personal Happiness, Transport, Health and Safety.      

Here’s a summary of the results in each index for the top-ranked country, Denmark and the US:

Summary: Expat Insider 2017

Index	No. 1	Denmark	USA
Top Destination	Bahrain	30	43
Quality of Life	Portugal	12	47
Ease of Settling In	Bahrain	65	28
Working Abroad	Czech Republic	9	28
Family Life	Finland	4	36
Personal Finance	Vietnam	56	37

NB: The Family Life index covers only 45 countries, and the Personal Finance parameter seems to concern primarily the cost of living.

No welcome wagon

The most glaring inconsistency between the two reports is that Denmark, the recurring No. 1 in the WHR, ranks 30^th overall among expats. It scores at the extremes of the EI indices. We know that, on the one hand, it is safe and has good child care and a good work-life balance, and also, on the other, that with its high taxes and duties it is expensive. The surprising score, which along with the cost of living drags down the overall ranking, is that it comes in dead last on Ease of Settling In, while countries such as Nigeria and Kazakhstan land in the middle.

Does this mean that the Danes are the most unfriendly people to foreigners? Consider the subcategories of this index: Feeling Welcome: 61; Friendliness: 59; and Finding Friends: 64. In the last subcategory, Language, it ranks 40^th even though everyone speaks English. Yes, the results suggest that the happiest people in the world are also the most unwelcoming – a disturbing combination on the face of it. Denmark has gotten a reputation for being anti-immigrant and anti-refugee, but the expats in this survey are generally well-educated people who don’t intend to live in the country permanently and don’t consume more than their share of its social benefits.

Tops in foreign aid

It looks like the Danes are happy among themselves and don’t want to share their happiness with others. But at the same time, Denmark managed to rank first in the 2017 Commitment to Development Index. It feels an obligation to the world and discharges it in a thoughtful, exemplary manner. Some other affluent, relatively happy countries rank near the bottom for “Settling In,” even those most welcoming of the big refugee wave of 2015, which were also near the top in Commitment to Development: Sweden: 49; and Germany: 56. In contrast, this was the best index for the otherwise not very tempting destination USA.

Another “parallel society”

I have attended several Internations events in Copenhagen lately. These well-attended cocktail parties and other activities have a lively, pleasant atmosphere. The typical participant is a single, thirty-something professional from another European country, and there is also a fair share from the Middle East. Many work in IT and pharma-biotech. A recurring topic is the difficulty of infiltrating mainstream social life in Denmark.

Even when everyone is supposed to speak English at international companies, Danes speak Danish among each other. They usually leave work early and don’t stop for a drink on the way home. Their leisure activities are focused on their families, extended families, and clubs in their local communities. Expats flock to these Internations events because they often cannot find activities as accessible and welcoming among the Danes. (Caveat: This sample may be not be representative: Many foreigners who are integrated probably don’t have the same need to attend expat events.)

Investing in the future

I can speak from both sides of the integration fence. It is possible to become fairly well integrated. It helps to be outgoing, enterprising and willing to mispronounce the language for a while. The quickest is to marry a Dane, get a permanent residence permit and have children here. Then you learn the language, become part of the child-care and school system, and begin to benefit from the advantages in quality of life. But even after living here many years, few immigrants can pass as real Danes, and their children may always make fun of their accents.

I should add that more foreigners than ever are working in Denmark and that, to the relief of industry associations, the government is proposing to expand the tax break for highly skilled foreign employees to attract more. The trend will continue, and as the country becomes more cosmopolitan, it may be able to crawl off the bottom of the hospitality league. But it has a long way to go to become a melting pot.

Happiness watch resumed: It’s the little things

This blog began in early 2016 when Bernie Sanders argued in the Democratic Party’s primary campaign that the US should emulate the social policies of Denmark and other Nordic countries. The purpose was to make a more detailed comparison from the perspective of Denmark’s ranking as the happiest country in the world. Around the time it became apparent that Sanders was out of contention, I stopped posting, except for a couple of pieces around the election, partly because the issues seemed less consequential under the likely Clinton Redux administration, which would continue Obama’s centrist course.

The blog wasn’t partisan, although I thought Sanders the least evil of the three leading candidates if only because of his basic integrity. But it needn’t have stopped, because the issues remained relevant. Indeed, they have become more urgent under Trump and Republican rule because America’s social compact is threatened and the social fabric is unraveling in economic and ideological polarization.

So after several months of inactivity, the blog will now resume, with the same general objective as before: What can America gain from the lessons of Western European social democracy? The short answer is still yes, people would be better off if the US could adopt some aspects of this culture, not only its governmental policies. But it’s also important to understand the context of the differences, which sometimes explains why Scandinavian institutions and customs can’t simply be imported into the US.

Domestic civilities
These are small countries, for starters, and maybe it’s the small things that add up to happiness or life satisfaction. For example, you should always take off your shoes when you enter someone’s home, except on formal occasions. If you’re going to stick around a while, bring a pair of slippers. If that doesn’t make America kinder and gentler, at least it will be cleaner, and fewer will leave home with holes in their socks. After a meal, always say “Thanks for the food” to the host or cook. When you meet someone you have visited or socialized with, say “Thanks for last time,” and she responds “In the same way,” meaning “Right back atcha.” Just thank people for various things at every opportunity.

Do you still use a single large blanket on your double bed? You should each have your own down comforter. Consider how much sleep has been lost collectively from tugging on blankets that are slipping away. (This hasn’t been proved to reduce the divorce rate, though. Denmark’s is even higher than America’s, but that may be partly because single mothers can manage better financially here.)

Public decorum and small monuments
If you ever happen to be a pedestrian, don’t forget to stand and wait for red lights to turn even if there’s no car in sight, even at three in the morning after a huge snowstorm. Time is not money. Help inculcate respect for civil order by conforming to the pack at the intersection, and meditate on the costs and benefits of a strong belief in authority when a breakaway jaywalker tests the resolve of the law-abiding citizens.

And generally, cultivate an appreciation for things on a smaller, more modest scale. The number one tourist attraction in Denmark is the Little Mermaid statue sitting on a rock in Copenhagen Harbor beside a promenade. It derives of course from a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen and through the generations survives all the kitsch that Disney can heap on it. Hardly more than a meter high, surrounded by little besides a sausage vendor’s cart and Japanese shutterbugs, it vanishes in comparison to monuments like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.

There’s no admission charge and no security guards, and in its humble, low-security setting it also provides a convenient, miniature forum for political debate by vandalism, most recently doused with red paint to protest whaling in the Faroe Islands. This multipurpose, hybrid creature certainly earns its keep, needing only occasional cleaning or re-attachment of its severed head.

These measures might not make headlines, but they cost nothing (almost nothing, with starter comforters from IKEA) and can be implemented immediately while you’re waiting for single-payer health insurance.

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The happiness sweepstakes

What do these so-called “happiness” surveys measure, and how do they make comparisons and rankings? The most famous is the World Happiness Report (WHR), which began in 2012. It is produced by an organization called the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which was set up by the UN, and its editors include prominent economists such as Jeffrey Sachs and Richard Layard. It aims to measure “subjective well-being”. “Happiness” was chosen for the title, the report explains, as a deliberate simplification to attract more attention from laypeople (WHR 2015, p. 17), and I have followed suit in this blog.

Subjective well-being is ascertained by life evaluations, including overall satisfaction with life, and by reports of positive and negative emotions (the latter based on Gallup Global Wellbeing research). A complicated methodology aggregates various components that explain the differences in the countries’ composite scores: GDP per capital, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and trust. The results make for catchy tabloid headlines, but the report is very comprehensive, slicing and dicing the data across many parameters and featuring extended essays on timely topics. It is intended as a supplement to purely economic measures such as GDP to be used in public policy decisions, and it is growing in influence around the world.

And the winner is...
Denmark ranked first in the WHR in 2013 and 2014, dropped to number 3 in 2015 behind Switzerland and Iceland, and then returned to the top in the recent 2016 update. The United States has landed consistently in the mid-teens. The exact ranking of the countries is not the essential information. The main point to notice in the list is the similarity of the highest ranked countries. The Nordic countries always fill most of the top slots. Rounding out the top 10 are other small European countries such as Switzerland and the Netherlands and the small or mid-sized English-speaking countries New Zealand, Australia and Canada. They are generally small, ethnically homogeneous, white, Protestant, peripherally located social democracies.

Another salient fact in the table is that the differences between the scores of countries adjacent to each other in the rankings, at least near the top, are usually smaller than the margins of error. This means that in a good year, any one of several contenders could land at the top, and they could all furnish instructive examples for America. Denmark seems as representative as any. I’m surprised, actually, that it’s back on top, since its economy is still rather stagnant and the political mood is contentious, but perhaps it shows that the rest of the world is doing no better.

In the feelgood category
When only the reports of positive emotion are used, as in Gallup’s Positive Experience Index, the results are markedly different. This survey asks people about their positive experiences the day before: were they well-rested and treated with respect “all day”, did they smile or laugh, did they learn something or feel enjoyment “during a lot of the day”. In 2015, all of the top 10 countries were in Latin America. “Money isn’t everything in life,” the report notes. Number 2, Guatemala, ranks 118^th in GDP per capita. Curiously, the United States and Denmark are next to each other around the 25^th spot. But about 20 other countries have the same scores as they do. As the WHR explains, it chose to focus on life evaluations for international comparison because emotional reports vary much less by region.

Another comprehensive report is the OECD Better Life Index, which began in 2011 and covers around 40 countries. It also has a complicated methodology combining 11 factors: housing, income and wealth, job earnings and security, social support, education, environment, “involvement in democracy”, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance. Australia currently ranks first, Denmark fifth, and the usual leaders from the WHR fill out the top 10, with one exception, the United States at number 7.

A collective prize
As I said, the main conclusions to be drawn from a glance at the top of the lists are that that the countries are similar in type and nearly interchangeable in the rankings. This suggests strong correlations among demographics, ideology and subjective well-being. What causes what is less clear. Romina Boarini of the OECD says unequivocally, “We do know the more unequally the income is distributed the lower life satisfaction.” That would seem to support Bernie Sanders’s reform proposals and attacks on Wall Street and its Washington enablers (who’s enabling whom, or it symbiosis?). While Denmark fits the low Gini coefficient profile, another, more localized if somewhat counterintuitive explanation for its high standing has been circulating ever since these surveys began: low expectations. But that’s a topic for another day.

A model society?

In his presidential campaign, the self-described “democratic socialist” Bernie Sanders has been urging the United States, if it wants to redress the scandalous social conditions many citizens endure, to learn from the example of Denmark. The country was even implicated in the Republican primary elections when Ted Cruz suggested that a President Trump might nuke it. (Danes say they don’t worry on that score because a typical American can’t even find the place on a map.) More recently, Denmark regained the lead in the World Happiness sweepstakes, buttressing Sanders’s contention that it’s not just a miniature utopia.

American liberals and progressives have praised the Nordic countries for decades as more sensible, just and compassionate societies. Sanders recommends their universal health care, free college, and paid maternity and sick leave. You could add to the list of entitlements: subsidized daycare, study stipends, five weeks of paid vacation a year. . . . It’s not surprising that resonates with America’s shrinking middle class and debt-ridden millennials. I’ve lived in Denmark for 20 years, and I can vouch that people here are generally better off than most Americans.

Also the leader in revenue collection
But where does all this “free” stuff come from? Here’s a small sample of its sources:

• Marginal income tax rate: about 56%
• Tax on gasoline: about $2.95 per gallon
• Sales tax on cars: 150% (reduced this year from 180%)

Is it so simple: The highest taxes in the world produce the greatest happiness? Presumably by way of greater income and wealth equality?

Correlation is not causation
Not so fast, says Otto Brøns-Petersen, head of research at CEPOS, a conservative Danish think tank. Noting that Denmark was a wealthy country in early 1960s, before it began the massive build-up of its welfare state, he argues that Denmark is still well to do not because of its large public sector but in spite of it. It is rather economic freedom, lack of corruption and similar factors that brought prosperity. 

Soon after Sanders put Denmark in the limelight, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the Danish prime minister, in a speech at Harvard, hastened to explain that Denmark isn’t a socialist country; it has a market economy with an extensive social safety net. (One can also question whether “democratic socialism” is an accurate description of Sanders’s platform.)

In any case, the country’s consistently high ranking in happiness surveys shows that it must be doing something right. So what is the best explanation for its success, and what is its relevance for less happy lands, such as the US floundering around in the mid-teens? Of course, extremists at both ends of the Danish political spectrum happen to think the country is going hell.

 

Parsing the sources of happiness 
The purpose of this blog is to describe and investigate Danish society with these issues in mind, to inform the American debate of some of the realities of Sanders’s so-called democratic socialism –  not from a strictly economic or political perspective but more informally, to look at the configuration of social, cultural, economic and political factors that coincide with a high quality of life. How socialist is Denmark really? How much does socialism account for its happiness? What other factors contribute to it? Is it even conceivable that the United States could emulate Denmark, and if so, should the US try to?

Admittedly, there are a number of qualifications, caveats and confounding factors in such an inquiry, but I think they can be disposed of along the way without undue distraction. What is meant by “happiness” in these surveys anyway – a high standard of living, emotional well-being? Is Denmark really the happiest? Is it much different from other northern European social democracies? Is it valid or worthwhile to compare a small, ethnically homogenous, predominately Protestant country with long social traditions with a country as large, diverse and dynamic as the United States?

For the long haul
Finally, will Sanders’s campaign last any longer than the impending Democratic convention? Well, the issues he’s raised won’t go away, and he’s dragged Hillary far enough to the left to chime in with a qualified “I love Denmark!” We shouldn’t expect to see universal health care or free college very soon, but perhaps the reform movement that has coalesced around Sanders will persist longer than Occupy Wall Street did. At any rate, it wouldn’t hurt Americans to learn a little about a viable alternative where there is little poverty and privation. To take the most obvious example, how do almost all other developed nations manage to get better health care at half the cost?