The Institutional Promotion of Happiness: Proposals, Perspectives, Problems

The article analyses some institutional actions for the promotion of happiness and wellbeing, starting from the well-established Gross Happiness Index of Bhutan. Tipically, in philosophy and in psychology, there are two different conceptions of happiness: one connected to emotions and the other related to the appraisal of one’s life (this one can also be split in two parts). An institutional policy would be more effective whether this distinction is clear. In the last decades, a specific notion of happiness has become dominant, the one called “Positive Psychology”. For this cultural orientation, happiness is largely related to individual performance and to cognitive and behavioral mechanisms – in line with the features of neoliberalism. This perspective is far away from happiness as a consequence of social justice. Moreover, different cultures emphasize dimensions of happiness not always consistent with institutional interventions.