Indeed, a group of economists (including me) concluded in a report commissioned by the Legatum Institute that, despite its apparent subjectivity, “wellbeing” – or life satisfaction – can be measured robustly, compared internationally, and used to set policies and judge their success. The task for governments is to commit to putting this focus on wellbeing into practice.
德国、法国、英国和美国的领导人似乎明白这一点，因为他们呼吁用新的更全面的政策目标来取代国内产值。我们的确能够设立这样的目标。事实上，一群经济学家（包括我本人在内）在一份由列格坦研究所委托编制的报告中得出结论，尽管表面看去可能失于主观，实际我们却可以稳定地衡量“幸福感”——或对生活的满意程度，我们把衡量结果在国际上进行比较，并以此为依据来制定政策和判断是否成功。把对幸福的目标付诸实施是各国政府的任务。