Quality of life: Its past and its future

Is life getting better? The founding father of sociology, Auguste Comte, thought it is. Yet most later sociologists rather think that life is getting worse and this negative view has become ever more dominant, as appears in a count of words in sociological abstracts. 

Empirical research on quality of life took off in the 1970s. A look at the available data shows a clear upward trend. We live ever longer and also longer in good health. Subjective life-satisfaction is also on the rise. This appears in an analysis of time-series in the World Database of Happiness. Together that makes that we live now longer and happier than ever before in human history. This  stunning rise in level  is accompanied with a steady decline of inequality in quality of life.

This begs the question why so many sociologists fail to see the obvious. One of the answers is that sociologists tend to think of quality of life as access to scarce resources, which is part of a wider tendency to look at presumed conditions for a good life rather than on the actual outcomes of life. A related answer is that much sociological research is instigated by vested interests, eager to equate their product with the good life. In this context it is also worth noting  that many sociologist earn their living exploiting social problems and for that reason may not be too open for good news.

What about the future of quality of life? The number of happy life years will probably continue to rise, unless ecological disasters take place. Sociologist will still persist in their focus on social problems. In that way they will probably contribute to the progress for which they have a blind eye.