Traces of Hope from a New Transnational Well-Being Index: World Love Index

Abstract

The article discusses the development of a new measurement called the World Love Index, which aims to evaluate people’s capacity to care for others and the world as an indicator of well-being. Drawing inspiration from appeals by intellectuals to shift towards a new form of humanism, the proposed new index aims to mark the transition towards a new social ecology, and it emphasizes the importance of social connections and relationships. In this way, it tries to capture the challenge of the quest of hope in the post-pandemic era. The study integrates data from the Gallup World Poll and World Values Survey to create this index, focusing on dimensions like overabundance of giving and care for others. The research identifies different clusters of countries based on their orientation towards environmental concern or humanitarian support, revealing how social love varies across income levels. The study argues that focusing on social love as a measure of well-being can lead to transformative policies that emphasize community-building and solidarity, offering a new narrative of progress centered on caring for one another and the environment. Against the backdrop of the post-pandemic era’s socio-economic challenges and echoes of historical crises, the study advocates for a paradigm shift away from traditional GDP-centric metrics, advocating for a comprehensive approach to measuring well-being that considers diverse dimensions of human experience. Ultimately, the World Love Index presents an innovative way to assess societies’ propensity for compassion and offers a fresh perspective on fostering hope and transformation through community-building and caring relationships.