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This book is devoted to applying the data, methods, and theories of contemporary social science to the question of how political outcomes in democratic societies determine the quality of life that citizens experience. Benjamin Radcliff seeks to provide an objective answer to the perennial debate between Left and Right over what public policies best contribute to human beings leading positive and rewarding lives. The book thus offers an empirical answer to this perpetual question, relying on the same canons of reason and evidence required of any other issue amenable to study through social-scientific means. The analysis focuses on the consequences of three specific political issues: the welfare state and the general size of government, labor organization, and state efforts to protect workers and consumers through economic regulation. The results indicate that in each instance, the program of the Left best contributes to citizens leading more satisfying lives, and, critically, that the benefits of greater happiness accrue to everyone in society, rich and poor alike.

Little is known about the political determinants of subjective well-being across nations. The dominant theoretical approaches, comparison and trait theory, suggest that cross-national differences will be either nonexistent or largely independent of political conditions. I argue instead that although culture does appear to play a significant role, the results of democratic competition have even more dramatic effects upon national levels of life satisfaction. Specifically, I demonstrate that subjective appreciation of life is positively affected by the ideological complexion of governments and by qualitative features of the welfare state. The implications for social policy, electoral politics, and our theoretical understanding of life satisfaction are discussed.

Little is known about the political determinants of subjective well-being across nations. The dominant theoretical approaches, comparison & trait theory, suggest that cross-national differences will be either nonexistent or largely independent of political conditions. I argue instead that although culture does appear to play a significant role, the results of democratic competition have even more dramatic effects upon national levels of life satisfaction. Specifically, I demonstrate that subjective appreciation of life is positively affected by the ideological complexion of governments & by qualitative features of the welfare state. The implications of social policy, electoral politics, & our theoretical understanding of life satisfaction are discussed. 5 Tables, 1 Figure, 1 Appendix, 48 References. Adapted from the source document.

In his contribution to this volume, Erikson contends that the results of my previous research (Radcliff 1994) are an artifact arising from my failure to account for changes in electoral dynamics in the South. When excluding the southern states from the analysis, Erikson argues, there is no evidence that turnout affects the vote. I demonstrate that omitting the South actually has very little impact: The evidence continues to support strongly the proposition that higher turnout benefits the Democrats.

Although political folk wisdom has long suggested that high turnout works to the advantage of the Democratic Party, this hypothesis has not fared well when subjected to empirical testing. The author finds strong and unequivocal evidence in support of the conventional view that greater turnout does profit Democratic candidates. This effect appears to have become more pronounced since 1960. The magnitude of the relationship is found to be considerable, such that even modest changes in turnout would have been sufficient to reverse the outcomes of recent presidential elections. The implications for party strategies and the study of voting are discussed.