The State of Happiness: Public Policy that Makes Life Better

What should government do? Welfarism holds that it should always try to make individuals’ lives go better, for them, than they otherwise would.

Explaining this idea, Canadian law professor and election candidate Noel Semple offers a fresh perspective on the potential of public policy. Five historical episodes — from mandatory seat belt laws in the USA to economic liberalization in India to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Canada— show how government really did make life better.

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