Contra Pritchard On Liberal Happiness

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Unaffordable housing violates liberal capitalism’s promises and creates a specific poverty, but does not prove wealth cannot increase happiness.
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A 225-fold income increase predicts only about three extra happiness points on a 1–10 scale.
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U.S. output per capita is roughly 900 times pre-agricultural levels and 225 times levels around 1 CE or medieval Europe.
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Across incomes from $10,000 to over $500,000 annually, happiness and log income correlate at 0.98–0.99 across several measures.
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Economic growth generated about three happiness points since medieval times, while major policy differences appear to yield only 0.5–1.
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Finland and Israel score 0.5–1 happiness points above the U.S. after adjusting for wealth, despite embodying sharply different political virtues.
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Without a technological singularity, standard economic-growth projections reach the limits of today’s happiness scale around 2040.
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U.S. happiness wandered through 1970–2020, then fell abruptly, rather than peaking in the 1970s and steadily declining.
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Medieval England around 1000 AD had GDP per capita resembling modern Burundi’s, with reported happiness around 3 versus 6–7 among Americans.
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U.S. GDP per capita rose from about $20,000 in the 1950s to $75,000 today, predicting only a half-point happiness gain.
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After shocks, low national happiness reinforces itself as people become less willing to display happiness when surrounding mood is low.
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Technological progress can keep improving descendants’ lives, while opposing administrations can reverse policy gains, making economic growth politically durable.

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