The Independent, a newspaper in the UK, has decided to counter the media’s obsession with the rich and famous, with a list of those who are happy because they do good.
The Wealth List, Power List, Influence List, Celebrity List… almost every week some publication or other is worshipping at the shrine of the wealthy and famous. Today, ‘The Sunday Times’ produces its famous Rich List, an entire magazine devoted to the moneyed. About time, then, we thought, that someone produced an antidote. So here it is: the Happy List, celebrating those Britons who have given back, enhanced the lives of others and realised that in an acquisitive society there’s a crying need for values other than mere materialism.
Deciding to do this – because it was needed and because we believe it reflects our readers’ values – was the easy part. Choosing who to include, and the criteria they would have to satisfy, was a great deal harder. We’ll spare you the pseudo-philosophical debates that ambushed the early days of this project and cut to the conclusions we reached: that the people on our list should be those who make the lives of strangers happier, that this is their prime motive in doing what they do (as opposed to a side-effect of it), and that their example deserves celebrating. And, after considering the conditions under which community happiness tends to flourish, we elected to look for candidates in 10 categories: philanthropy, charity, mental well-being, physical health, pleasure (ie those in the media and culture who make us feel better), environment, innovation, volunteers and time-givers, community activity, and entertainment.
It was obvious from the start, and indeed was quite deliberate, that many of those most worthy of inclusion would be unknown outside their areas, and therefore unsung.
Read all about it.