This paper reexamines the concept and determinants of happiness within global society involving Western and comparable societies such as OECD countries. The review of the literature suggests that it leaves a certain void with respect to the bearing of types of contemporary societies on happiness and its societal conditions. The paper argues that a particular type of these societies, denoted as the combination of welfare capitalism and liberal democracy, tends to create the best societal conditions for a happier society than do other types, such as those described as the compound of oligarchic-plutocratic capitalism and illiberal ‘democracy’ and mixed social systems. It then presents varied evidence in strong support of the argument demonstrating that this type of society is the most successful in creating objective conditions for realizing the ideal of the ‘greatest happiness to the greatest number’ of its members compared to its opposite and mixed alternatives. The paper concludes that the evidence strongly confirms that welfare capitalism/liberal democracy functions as the strongest determinant and predictor of the happiness of societies today.

本文重新审视了涉及西方国家和类似经合组织（OECD）的全球社会中幸福的概念和决定因素国家。文献综述表明，在当代社会类型对幸福及其社会条件的影响方面，它留下了一定的空白。该论文认为，这些社会的一种特殊类型，即福利资本主义和自由民主的结合，往往比其他类型的社会创造了一个更幸福的社会的最佳社会条件，例如那些被描述为寡头政治体制的资本主义复合体。以及非民主的“民主”和混合的社会制度。然后，它提供了各种各样的证据来强有力地支持这一论点，表明这种社会在创造客观条件方面是最成功的，相比于其对立的和混杂的选择，这种社会实现了其成员“最大的幸福最大”的理想。