More on happiness

A few things following on from the announcement by David Cameron , Britain’s prime minister, that the government plans to measure well-being from April.

* Cameron distinguished between General Well-Being and Gross Domestic Product back in 2006. Yet another example, if any are needed, of how mainstream such ideas are.

* Diane Coyle made the useful point on her blog that the failure of happiness to rise in line with economic growth is a statistical artefact. In principle GDP is a statistical construction which can, at least in theory, rise without limit. Measured happiness cannot rise above euphoria and if someone is already very happy their happiness cannot easily double or treble.

* Brendan O’Neill wrote about the liking of totalitarian regimes for happiness in an article in the First Post.