On page 47, Laura Bolin Carroll refers to a survey and states that “the US happiness peaked in the 1950s.” As you know or should know, many important social transformations took place later, after the 1950s. For instance, the Civil Rights Movement, in which many Black participants and their allies fought for human equality, saw its peak in the 1960s, and the movement continues its activities in various forms even today, including in the form of the Black Lives Matter. The 1960s was also an important moment for the women’s movement. Many forms of feminism appeared after that period, and even today there is a sustained effort (and resistance) to equalize opportunities for both genders. Given this context, the 1950s was not the best time from the perspective of civil rights and human equity. While Carroll may be correct about the connection between the amount of advertisement people are exposed to and their level of happiness, what do you think about the survey discussed in the earlier paragraph? Do you think people were happier when the society was not as equal as it is today?

Given the context of the level of happiness in the 1950s, my opinion about the question of whether people were happier when the society was not as equal as it is today is:

It would depend on the group of people as white supremacists would definitely would be happier before the Civil Rights movements and the abolishment of slavery as blacks virtually had no rights and were treated like filth.

However, the blacks and a vast majority of abolitionists and people who wanted an end to slavery and equality would definitely be happier as there seems to be a balance in equality among the whites, blacks and other minority groups than what was obtainable before.

With this in mind, i would say that the people are happier now that the society is more equal than what was obtainable in previous years.