What should government do? Welfarism holds that it should always try to make individuals’ lives go better, for them, than they otherwise would.

Explaining this idea, Canadian law professor and election candidate Noel Semple offers a fresh perspective on the potential of public policy. Five historical episodes — from mandatory seat belt laws in the USA to economic liberalization in India to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Canada— show how government really did make life better.

Like parenting, government involves countless alternatives but boils down to making their lives as good as they can be, for them. The State of Happiness is an optimistic call for evidence-based, progressive government.

The State of Happiness is an accessible introduction to welfarism, a normative theory of public policy.