The Key to Happiness That No One -- Not Even the Happiness Gurus -- Are Discussing

By Frances Moore Lappe, YES! Magazine. Posted January 31, 2009.

Including power in our definition of happiness changes everything.

If happiness lies in covering basic needs, plus satisfying personal ties and finding meaning, society's role is limited. It need only ensure that essential needs are met and provide opportunities to pursue personal relationships and meaning. Even a largely totalitarian government could do that.

But, if we add power to the happiness equation, our agenda shifts. Maximizing happiness then requires engaging citizens in changing the rules and norms so that more and more of us are empowered participants.

And, of course, joining with others in this exhilarating pursuit, we achieve a double whammy: Such activity furthers the widely appreciated relational and meaning aspects of the happiness puzzle.

If, from our nation's founding onward, we Americans have treated freedom and happiness as virtually synonymous, my point is a really old one. We might do well to replace the maxims of Acton, and even Nietzsche, with one uttered by Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero 2,000 years ago:

"Freedom is participation in power."

Interested? Walking Through Fear: interview with Frances Moore Lappé.   More articles by Frances Moore Lappé

See more stories tagged with: health, democracy, happiness, power, wellness

Frances Moore Lappé wrote this article as part of Sustainable Happiness, the Winter 2009 issue of YES! Magazine. Frances is the author of many books including Diet for a Small Planet and Get a Grip, co-founder of Food First and the Small Planet Institute, and a YES! contributing editor.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »