Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Unhappiness : Shared by Kul Gautam

Yet another incisive commentary by NYTimes columnist Nick Kristof on the comparative ranking of the USA in the world: Number #1 in economic wealth & military prowess, but number #32 in social progress, #45 in health, #47 in K-12 education, and #99 in citizens' safety.

So what's the solution?
More investments in human capital — in children, education and lifting skill levels....partly funded by reduced military spending.  

Kul

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Unhappiness

Nicholas Kristof

The New York Times

January 14, 2026

Click here for the article

Click here for the 2026 Social Progress Index

Summary

A new study based on the Social Progress Index ranks the United States 32nd out of 171 countries in quality of life, behind Poland, Lithuania and Cyprus. 

The U.S. has fallen steadily in rankings over the years under both Republican and Democratic presidents, dropping from 18th place in 2011 when it was ahead of France, Italy and Spain. The index has 12 components, and the U.S. has declined in all of them since 2011. 

Specific rankings show the U.S. at 99th in safety (behind Pakistan and Nicaragua), 47th in K-12 education (behind Vietnam and Kazakhstan), and 45th in health (behind Argentina and Panama). 

Other assessment tools show similar trends, with the World Happiness Report ranking America 24th (down from 15th a decade earlier). 

Michael Green, chief executive of the group publishing the index, attributes the decline to a bipartisan, multi-president failure spanning decades rather than any single administration. He notes that while the U.S. generates strong economic growth, it lags at translating GDP growth into quality of life improvements. 

Kristof warns that proposed cuts in health care under the Trump administration may accelerate the decline.

Yes, Kristof offers a brief solution at the end of the article: Investments in human capital — specifically in children, education and lifting skill levels.

He elaborates that this means "everything from early childhood initiatives to vocational training, from drug treatment to community colleges. Kristof presents this more as a starting point for discussion rather than a comprehensive policy agenda. 

He ends with a call to action, saying "our relentless decline in our international standing should be an alarm bell in the night" and that Americans need to shake off complacency about the problem.

Quotes

"The quality of life in America is not just worse than in a handful of small Scandinavian countries but also worse than in all of America's G7 competitors. We've slipped behind former Communist countries like Slovenia, Lithuania and Estonia and behind other relatively new democracies like South Korea."

"The U.S. won the Cold War by being an economic superpower and a social progress superpower. Over the last 30 years, America has simply let go, in terms of social progress."

"It's not about Trump. Obama and Biden did little to reverse the decline, nor did the Bushes or Clinton. It's a multipresident, bipartisan, long, slow car crash."

"We have to think about Trump as the consequence rather than the cause of America's progress decline."