America's happiness deficit

What do Finland and Denmark know that we've forgotten?

An American flag.
(Image credit: Lisa Werner / Stockimo / Alamy Stock Photo)

This is the editor’s letter in the current issue of The Week magazine.

For much of the year, Finland has but a few hours of light and temperatures well below 0 degrees F. Yet the Finns are the happiest people in the world, according to the U.N.'s annual World Happiness Report. Norway is second, followed by Denmark and Iceland (also cold and dark). The U.S. dropped four places to 18th. Now, happiness is no doubt hard to quantify, and this ranking should be taken as more suggestive than definitive. But why does our powerful and wealthy nation — whose founding promise is the individual pursuit of happiness — consistently fall into a second tier ... and keep sinking?

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William Falk

William Falk is editor-in-chief of The Week, and has held that role since the magazine's first issue in 2001. He has previously been a reporter, columnist, and editor at the Gannett Westchester Newspapers and at Newsday, where he was part of two reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes.