At a recent social gathering, a psychotherapist told me that her practice is booming as never before. Asked what accounts for the surge, she answered in a word: Trump. Given seismic social changes on his watch and compounding global crises, a large swath of the American public is giving in to deep despair. For them — nay, for all of us — the probing question is: Can Americans reclaim “the pursuit of happiness,” a right enshrined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence?

The despair narrative resonates with many people’s personal lives. This story is about unhappiness, tragedies and hopelessness.

The depth of despair is linked to the decline of the American dream. Tracing “deaths of despair,” Princeton professors Anne Case and Angus Deaton, a Nobel laureate, collate decreasing life expectancy, rising rates of suicide, drug overdose and alcoholism in the U.S. They link these trends to the weakening of organized labor, the growth of mega corporations and the redistribution of workers’ wages into the coffers of the wealthy. For Case and Deaton, the seed issue is capitalism’s excesses.

In its various iterations, the despair narrative portends a bleak future. It offers few options, obscuring possibilities for escaping this quagmire.

To turn despair around, think about its flip side: happiness. A state of mind, happiness is an aspiration rather than a destination. The good news is that it can be cultivated, induced in increments, not all at once. Shaped by historical circumstances in specific contexts, happiness is tied to positive emotions, a sense of purpose, and a feeling of fulfilment.

I have known the process of fostering happiness up close. For 23 years running (except the COVID timeout), I have worked and lived, on again and off again, in Finland. After experiencing devastating wars in the 20th century and pervasive poverty, this country developed a creative niche economy. Finland then took the top spot as the happiest country in the world for eight consecutive years, according to the UN-sponsored “World Happiness Report” (2025). Meanwhile, the U.S. dropped to 24th place in 2025.

In the U.S., falling trust in civic institutions, weakening social connections and political polarization help explain diminishing life satisfaction. The absence of a national health care system, the precarities of the gig economy, meager social protections and high levels of inequality also drive despondency. Likely, a political culture characterized by individualism and materialism is a contributing factor.

In contrast, Finland’s root values are mutual trust, cooperation and egalitarianism. There is a shared belief in dialogue among multiple stakeholders. Its top-notch educational system values collective over individual performance and offers free tuition at universities for EU citizens. Finland has a substantial redistributive tax regime, democratic governance led by coalitions and low corruption.

To me, the country’s social cohesion, clean air, relative safety, and plentiful support for music and art are remarkable. I relish myriad varieties of berries and mushrooms, sparkling lakes, sustainably produced meals and saunas.

Yet Finland faces manifold problems: excessive alcohol consumption, a limited number of providers to treat depression, increasing popularity of groups like the Finns Party on the far right, a tense relationship with neighboring Russia, stalled economic growth and globalizing market forces that cut against time-honored Finnish values.

Surely the Finnish model is not for export. It is based on a distinctive history, social structure and regulatory system. Nonetheless, there are lessons to be learned about the forces that set parameters within which individuals despair or become happy.

In the U.S., the well-being industry attends to happiness. The wellness-industrial complex produces courses, programs, facilities, technologies and other commodities that individualize personal choices. Marketers shape preferences.

All that said, the way to achieve the good life is by collective action to resist Trump and deny the wellness-industrial agglomeration.

Bolstering social policy (health care, child care, public education, sports and the arts) can increase happiness for multitudes. Social spending, in turn, requires economic reforms, which should be subordinate to social needs. Trump, his billionaire cabinet and the handmaidens of autocracy have it the other way around: moneyed interests are given priority. Since the steering mechanisms are political, now is the time to mobilize for a successor administration that would reset objectives and map policies that boost happiness.

Jim Mittelman, a Boulder resident and Camera columnist, is an educator, activist, and author. His books include “The Globalization Syndrome,” “Hyperconflict,” and “Runaway Capitalism” (due out in late 2025).