The pursuit of happiness reloaded: From measures to policymaking, holistic well-being as a global political goal in contemporary constitutionalism

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The rise of a number of initiatives, at both the national and supranational levels, to go beyond economic metrics of societal progress such as the gross domestic production is sparking a growing interest worldwide. Such a shift would generate a number of effects on the policymaking process and traditional strategic narratives about the interplay between community and society, the functioning of the public debate and the roles of civil society, government and the state at large. Introducing indicators of holistic quality of life would impact the policymaking process and require to abandon the current “rational-instrumental” model of policymaking in favour of the alternative “constructivist” or “interactionist” models. Furthermore, this would shake the very foundations of Western constitutionalism by challenging consolidated assumptions of what are considered to be the traditional aims and responsibilities of a state, the functioning of the media sphere and the public debate, and eventually raising a case for redistributing the political power between governments and social groups of different sorts.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)56-75
Number of pages19
JournalJournal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law
Volume47
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 May 2015

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • welfare
  • national statistics
  • democracy
  • Public opinion
  • Public Policy

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