Felicity (n): "happy, fortunate, fruitful, fertile" …with derivatives meaning "to suckle, produce, yield." Meaning "skillful adroitness, admirable propriety" is from c. 1600. A relic of Rome's origins as an agricultural community: that which brings happiness is that which produces crops. etymonline.com

In the olden days, the concept of happiness was akin to felicity, a sense of wellbeing that comes from fruitful labor. That's the sense used in the Declaration of Independence. To pursue happiness wasn't to chase a feeling but to practice a way of being - a vocation. And 'vocation' wasn't just a job, it was a calling.  To answer a higher calling was to act in the service of a greater good (originally the service of God, as in I Corinthians vii.20).

So happiness as felicity contains multitudes: a sweet and humble sense of well-being that comes from productive labor in harmony with one's nature and the world, mixed with gratitude for one's good fortune and satisfaction at being able to share the fruits of one's labor.

Some contemporary conceptions of happiness retain its felicitous associations, like this from Psychology Today :

More than simply positive mood, happiness is a state of well-being that encompasses living a good life—that is, with a sense of meaning and deep satisfaction.

Good enough for me and good enough to be the guiding definition for these posts.

So what makes us happy? Many things, including:

  • Opportunity for control
  • Opportunity for using skills
  • Purposeful activity and structuring of time
  • Predictability (to formulate goals, plan and act)
  • Sense of progress
  • Physical security and safety
  • Opportunity for interpersonal contact
  • Valued social position

The ideal government seeks to create conditions conducive to the pursuit of happiness. That is, it aims to provide sufficient security, safety, predictability, and freedom for the people to pursue productive and valued lives within their communities. Inequality is a worthy target for governmental intervention to the extent that it undermines conditions conducive to the pursuit of happiness.

It's a beginning.

Next: How might inequality trip up the government's mission to create conditions conducive to the pursuit of happiness?

References:

Argyleand, M. & Martin, M. (1991) The psychological causes of happiness. Chapter 5 in Subjective well-being: an interdisciplinary perspective Fritz Strack, Michael Argyle, Norbert Schwarz (Eds.) Oxford: Pergamon Press,  77-100.

Diener, E. & Suh, E. (1997). Measuring quality of life: Economic, social, and subjective indicators. Social Indicators Research, 40, 189–216.