The Bigger the Government, the Happier the People?
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iStock/Thinkstock(WACO, Texas) — For decades, conservatives have decried the concept of big government, claiming it hurts personal civil liberties and stifles economic growth.
However, Baylor University political scientists Patrick Flavin argues that conservatives may want to rethink their long-standing belief based on a study he did of 50,000 people in 21 countries.
The general consensus is that people are happier with big governments with leftist leanings that provide numerous entitlement programs, including welfare.
What’s more, their personal satisfaction grows when the government actually intervenes in the economy as opposed to the concept of a free market.
Flavin and his team insist that they’re not trying to start an ideological debate and yet they say that a social democracy is one that makes most of a country’s citizens happy.
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