Importance of quality of life and well-being
Health and mind
How does it help us as a society?
The search for a good quality of life and well-being is long-standing and innate in human beings. Even today, hedonism contrasts the pursuit of pleasure with the rejection of pain, where happiness is centered on the reasoning of classical philosophy. Seneca said this Happiness is one of the basic goals of the human being, but he argued that people are blind to what makes them happy and that the more they seek it, the more they repel it.
In nineteenth-century classical economics, happiness was spoken of as an expression of possibility of consumption and amenities, that although the economy is not the basis of the quality of life and well-being, it is important to achieve some of them. This persistent act of seeking welfare from the people who make up a society has served as a guide for determining the country’s social policies in this regard. The two important questions for me are: What does quality of life and well-being mean to people? Are social policy strategies really aimed at meeting these needs? We will only know that answer if we ourselves as a population are aware of what each of these terms means. quality of life and well-being.
WHO defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease.” This definition assumes that each individual is responsible for his or her own quality of life and well-being, leaving responsibility more to the individual and little responsibility to the structures of the state. the Mayan concept Regarding health, it says the following: “health articulates physical, mental, spiritual and social elements from an individual and collective perspective and includes political, economic, social and cultural aspects. To promote health and prevent disease, a local community strives to restore and maintain its internal and external balance, including harmony between sick members of the community and the world around them. Which of these two concepts is more complete? Which of the two shows that a person’s quality of life and well-being depends on multiple factors? Quality of life It has objective and subjective content.
Objective components are those that can be measured such as: economic production levels, literacy levels, life expectancy, human development index, which have their advantages over standardized information and are a potential means of “improving the quality of life”. While the subjective components would be based on: surveys or interviews, self-reports of satisfaction, well-being, happiness, among others. Levels of significance vary, the role of cultural norms, mental illness, disability, etc.
Now it is the combination of the two that will lead to a good quality of life and well-being. If we look at the reality of our society, we will understand that 80% of the population lives in poverty and extreme poverty, where the matrix of basic needs such as: food, maintenance, health, need to feel safe, protected, with work, housing; the need for emotional development, acceptance, affection, recognition, trust, respect and potential development do not exist Can we say that we are a society that promotes quality of life and well-being? Are we a resilient society? Or because of the prevalence of poverty and lack of opportunity have we adapted? Why governments should prioritize welfare and quality of life, ensuring an economy that allows for the homogeneous development of society, the implementation of what is known as welfare economics they are strategies that integrate a series of steps that are considered necessary to find the desired economic system to achieve social welfare.
Between the steps, a series of criteria based on the economy’s toolkit are established to achieve the goals. Among these steps or criteria, we could highlight the following: public provision of social goods and services, state responsibility for maintaining minimum living conditions, state intervention in promoting full employment, achieving fair and efficient distribution of resources, redistribution of wealth and the country’s income to achieve a more egalitarian society. In addition, people not only need to live with basic needs covered, we also need social and spiritual capital to be able to perceive well-being. Now each of us must think whether in this society I am in power or in a disadvantaged position? What contribution do I make from my work space and social relations to promote the well-being and quality of life in my society?
A society with quality of life and well-being is a society that progresses, builds and becomes stronger.
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