Depression and Mistrust in the ‘Greatest Country in the World’

Photo Credit: The American[1]

By: Natalie Schreffler

It is no secret that the world is divided between economically advanced countries and emerging economies that cannot seem to break the cycle of poverty and corruption that holds them down. According to data produced by the International Monetary Fund, the world’s seven most economically advanced countries (the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Canada) constitute 43.7 percent of world GDP[2]. Contrast that with the 76 nations that comprise Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America which make up a total of 11.2 percent of world GDP.[3] That is, 3 percent of the world produces almost half of world GDP. One could then ask, is quality of life in these rich, developed countries significantly better than the other 97 percent of the world? With so much industrialization and opportunity to seek, there must be a payoff for mental health and general happiness.

Right?

Unfortunately, among the world’s 20 richest countries, higher income inequality is correlated with a rather dismal index of health and social problems.[4] The United States consistently ranks as the most disparate in terms of income equality, and that leads to grave manifestations. For example, there is a high level of drug use, infant mortality, life expectancy, mental illness and obesity compared to other developed countries. Child wellbeing, high school drop outs, math and literacy scores, social mobility and teenage births in the US rank poorly. Homicide, imprisonment, social capital, and even the simple concept of social trust are worse in the United States than in the other rich and developed countries. There is general social dysfunction in the United States as compared to other countries, whereas; the best rankings of social equity exist in the Nordic countries and Japan.

The United States shows dysfunction in terms of both income inequality and Gross National Income, per capita.[5] In other words, the average well-being of the world’s most developed societies is not dependent on national income or economic growth. According to surveys done by the World Health Organization, mental and neurological disorders are responsible for 13% of the global burden of disease.[6] In the United States, that number was more than 25 percent.[7] For a person living on the poverty line, the first marginal rises in income result in an increase in happiness[8]; the subsequent rises in GNP are not as beneficial to mental health in affluent societies. The United States is a prime example of such a phenomenon.

The purpose of this discussion is not to condemn the United States as an inherently miserable society whose health and social infrastructures are hopelessly failing. On the contrary, the purpose is to recognize that the United States is the most exorbitantly economically developed country in the world and also the most depressed, yet we still have the occasional American Exceptionalist congratulating himself on living in the “greatest country in the world.”

The United States does hold many of the best universities of the world,[9] and is seen as a beacon of hope for any foreign up-and-comer who is lucky enough to be granted any amount of (legal) time in the United States. The healthcare system, despite the current political disparities, is top-notch. Opportunities are lavish in this country, if one has the savvy to exploit them. Our infrastructures are well-managed and laws are enforced, generally free of corruption. Standard of living is high, and there is no reason for an American-born, healthy, middle-class person to complain about being an American citizen and having the luxury of political freedom and access to so many life opportunities that the United States grants. But the epidemic of entitlement, born from the attitude of American exceptionalism, causes the most well-meaning among us to look with condescension on nations which do not have the same level of economic advancement. This American exceptionalism stems from the assumption that as Americans, we necessarily have a superior value system, political process, and historical narrative than other countries and that gives us a responsibility to play a distinct role in the world.[10] We fail to see the intellectual capacity of people from the global South and adopt the position of the “White Savior,”[11] assuming that if we just lend our charitable hand to an impoverished country, we have done our part to save those poor barbaric nations—and then we continue living our privileged lives and our friends think we are better because of our contact with the “third world.” We see it as somehow our duty to save the poor, who apparently have no power or intellectual capacity to overcome poverty. But who are we to take such a position if our economic prosperity has not actually resulted in more happiness? This surely speaks to several factors of the human condition—the need for true community; the need to be thankful for that which we have, rather than constantly falling prey to the culture of consumerism; the strength it takes to thrive in less-than-ideal circumstances, etc.

That is why Americans should not assume that they have the best formula for living a happy and productive life; rather, we should recognize the value in other ways of life that may not involve unmitigated consumerism. We should not assume that America’s way is the only way to success. We should humble ourselves and recognize other people’s ability to achieve happiness, even if it is dirtier and simpler than that of American Suburbia.

 

Natalie Schreffler is a M.I.A. candidate at The Pennsylvania State University’s School of International Affairs. Her work with NGOs in Benin and Malawi, as well as her experience in refugee resettlement in the Seattle area, has prepared her for studying international conflict resolution and development. Natalie’s interests include women’s empowerment, grassroots development efforts, refugee and migration issues, and general culture studies.  


[1] http://www.american.com/archive/2008/april-04-08/understanding-american-exceptionalism.

[2] “World Economic Outlook: Growth Resuming, Dangers Remain” http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/01/pdf/text.pdf, p. 179 (April 2012).

[3] Ibid.

[4] Richard Wilkinson, How Economic Inequality Harms Societies, http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_wilkinson.html (July 2011).

[5] Ibid.

[6] Pratap Sharan, Itzhak Levav, Sylvie Olifson, Andrés de Francisco, Shekhar Saxena, eds. Research capacity

for mental health in low- and middle-income countries: Results of a mapping project. Geneva, World Health

Organization & Global Forum for Health Research, http://www.who.int/mental_health/MHRC_FullText.pdf (2007).

[7] Mental Health: In Brief, http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/research/mental-health (2012).

[8] John Helliwell, Richard Layard, Jeffrey Sachs, eds. World Happiness Report. Columbia University, http://www.earth.columbia.edu/sitefiles/file/Sachs%20Writing/2012/World%20Happiness%20Report.pdf.

[9] Gary Shapiro, “Is America the Greatest Country in the World?” Forbes Magazine, http://www.forbes.com/sites/garyshapiro/2012/07/25/is-america-the-greatest-country-in-the-world/ (July 2012).

[10] Stephen Walt, “The Myth of American Exceptionalism,” Foreign Policy Magazine, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/11/the_myth_of_american_exceptionalism?page=0,0 (November 2011).

[11] Teju Cole, “The White Savior Industrial Complex,The Atlantic,  http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/ (March 2012).

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