The imaginary adman Donald Draper frequently spoke of pleasure, saying,” Happiness is the scent of a new car.” It’s a release from worry. On the side of the road, there is a poster that screams with assurance that whatever you’re doing is fine. You are all right.
Despite economic development and technological progress, it would seem, at least based on the World Happiness Report 2025, that Americans as a whole are considerably less happy than they once were. The US is still slipping in the World Happiness Rankings, having to actually make the top 20. Trust in government, neighbors, and organizations has declined, with only 30 % of Americans saying they trust another, over from 50 % in the 1970s.
One in five people in the country report having no close friends, which is a grief illness that is spreading across the nation. More Americans are dining single, living alone, and spending less time engaging in meaningful interpersonal relationships. Social polarization is at an all-time high, resulting in two entirely distinct experiences where opposing viewpoints pose existential risks. Most concerningly, incidents of despair, including those caused by drug overdoses and alcohol-related deaths, are also rising in the US, even as they are declining in different nations. The most disenchanted team isn’t supporters of Trump or Biden, but abstainers, who report the lowest levels of happiness and highest amounts of disillusionment. Simply put, America is becoming more isolated, divided, and distrustful, a dangerous combination that keeps dragging nationwide happiness along.
The Crisis of Happiness: America Drops in the Rankings
The US has been gradually declining since it was again perfectly ranked among the nation’s happiest countries. Northern nations like Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden continue to hold the best places, while the US struggles to make it up to the top 20.
This is more than just a statistical anomaly; it reflects serious, structural problems that are ravaging the country’s well-being. Life fulfillment continues to decline despite GDP per capita increases and the economy’s strength remain, demonstrating that financial security single cannot provide pleasure. Different countries have found a balance between economic growth and social confidence, while America is still mired in political unrest and social fragmentation.
The Reason for American Unhappiness at its base
The decline in social faith is one of the main causes of pleasure levels. Americans generally believed in their neighbors, their areas, and their institutions decades ago. That opinion has almost dissipated now. A dramatic fall from 50 % in the 1970s is when only 30 % of Americans say they trust people. This lack of trust is not just a theoretical phenomenon; it has practical effects, ranging from community commitment to mental health. Countries with high levels of social confidence are known to constantly be the most happy countries, demonstrating that people are happier when they can depend on others around them.
The fall of loneliness, which has come to be a defining feature of contemporary British life, is just one more contributing factor to the crisis. Almost one in five young people report no near friends, which is a record level of social isolation in particular. This is in stark contrast to previous generations, who put a lot of attention on in-person socializing and communal living. However, sadness extends to all age groups, with more Americans dining single, living alone, and engaging in prolonged social isolation. Technology and social media were intended to bring people closer, but they frequently did the opposite, transforming real-world relationships into modern substitutes that fail to deliver the same emotional satisfaction.
Then there is social polarization, which has turned the nation from a melting pot to a pressure cooker. Americans don’t really disagree on issues; they live in entirely separate realities, consume different news, hold different opinions, and consider the opposing viewpoint to be existentially dangerous. This division positively erodes happiness rather than just creating social dysfunction. Countries with lower levels of social polarization are more likely to have higher levels of well-being because their people feel more at peace and have a sense of purpose. In addition, America is still trapped in a period of unending anger, where each vote feels more like a chance for advancement than a battle for survival.
The increase in deaths of despair, a term used to describe suicides, drug overdoses, and alcohol-related deaths, is perhaps the most disturbing sign of declining joy. The US is still an oddity, with despair-driven incidents continuing to rise, despite other nations ‘ efforts to lower these numbers. These are more than just statistics; they reflect a growing sense of hopelessness in a significant portion of the population. Individuals are giving up more than just being unhappy. This issue is not being tempered by economic growth, technological advancements, or medical breakthroughs, which suggests that the issue is more directly related to individual policy failures than to specific financial failure.
You Trump Restore America’s Happiness?
Donald Trump represents a transfer to something better for millions of Americans, whether that is economic growth, national pride, or just the satisfaction of watching him concern the political establishment. His followers report higher-than-average career happiness, but with a caveat: they also have some of society’s lowest levels of trust. This paradox implies that even though Trump voters may feel seriously uneasy about the program, the media, and even their fellow Americans.
This raises a crucial question: does happiness depend solely on one’s own pleasure, or does it call for a sense of national cohesion?
Trump’s Happiness Paradox
The statistics support Trump’s claims that America will become great again despite his claims. His second term saw a boom in the stock market, small unemployment, and strong economic growth, but the country’s happiness rankings continued to decline.
This reinforces a crucial lesson: joy cannot be guaranteed by economic achievements only. If it did, the US would be at the top of the pleasure scale thanks to its enormous success. However, delight is more about than just money; it’s about social stability, confidence in institutions, and strong group ties, all of which have been gradually declining, regardless of who is in charge.
Trump thrives on political division, which immediately contributes to the country’s suffering, which is a key factor in this decrease. His charm is most prevalent among those who feel alienated from the program, but this disillusionment also contributes to broader unsatisfaction. In cultures where individuals feel they are contributing to a common goal, pleasure flourishes. In the US, intellectual conflict has replaced that mutual understanding, in which one side feels as though one side has lost all of their philosophical interests.
In Mad Men, Don Draper once said,” If you don’t enjoy what they’re saying, change the conversation.”
The question is then whether Trump can rekindle the dialogue and inspire a sense of happiness in Americans. Trump’s return to the social scene does rekindle his admirers, but the country’s happiness crisis is more than just a branding issue. It is also a important cause of social decay. Campaign rallies and popular soundbites cannot address the root causes of national discontent, which are rising loneliness, collapsing faith, and social division. If something, Trump’s existence is more likely to intensify polarization than to redress the divisions that have slowed the nation over.
That doesn’t mean he didn’t alter the talk. He now knows. Every vote is a battle for survival in Trump’s America, where politics is leisure and outrage is currency. This might seem like function for those who thrive on the conflict. However, a divided nation that is always at war with itself is not content.
In the end, joy isn’t measured by GDP growth, stock market performance, or who controls Congress. It involves a sense of belonging, relationships, and confidence.
No political leader, whether Trump or not, will be able to bring America joy once more until America reckons with these deeper injuries.
