8.2.1 What makes your life worth living?
Completion requirements
8.2.1 What makes your life worth living?
How should I respond to globalization?
Quality of life describes how good a person's life is. It includes health, wealth, happiness, freedom, equality, personal satisfaction, and love of family and friends. But people value various things. Some people love possessions, and other have greater concern for relationships, their spiritual life, or the environment. What one individual considers a good quality of life, another may not.
An Albertan teenager may think that a sports car or pick-up truck will increase his quality of life. An Aboriginal youth might find meaning in rediscovering her traditional spirituality. A boy may love his life on the family farm while his sister can hardly wait to move to the city. A family moving to Alberta to Newfoundland for a high-paid job in the oilsands may love the income but miss their way of life back on "the Rock". Some people get meaning from their jobs; others would trade money for more free time. Quality of life depends on perspective.
Quality of life and culture: One of the most important factors that determines what we value in our lives is our culture. For some people, when culture is lost, quality of life goes with it. In our globalizing world, lifestyles are changing rapidly. People who have difficulty coping with change, especially those who have lived in traditional societies, often suffer. In Unit One, you read about workers in the business process outsourcing facility in India. Many of the workers in the tech sector in India left their families in small towns or villages. They work long hours and have little time for their families. Some may have greatly improved standards of living, but their quality of life is not necessarily better.
An Albertan teenager may think that a sports car or pick-up truck will increase his quality of life. An Aboriginal youth might find meaning in rediscovering her traditional spirituality. A boy may love his life on the family farm while his sister can hardly wait to move to the city. A family moving to Alberta to Newfoundland for a high-paid job in the oilsands may love the income but miss their way of life back on "the Rock". Some people get meaning from their jobs; others would trade money for more free time. Quality of life depends on perspective.
Quality of life and culture: One of the most important factors that determines what we value in our lives is our culture. For some people, when culture is lost, quality of life goes with it. In our globalizing world, lifestyles are changing rapidly. People who have difficulty coping with change, especially those who have lived in traditional societies, often suffer. In Unit One, you read about workers in the business process outsourcing facility in India. Many of the workers in the tech sector in India left their families in small towns or villages. They work long hours and have little time for their families. Some may have greatly improved standards of living, but their quality of life is not necessarily better.
© Thinkstock
© Thinkstock
© Thinkstock
Marcel Thibodeu quit school in his home province of Quebec when he was fifteen because of a family break-up. By age 25, he had limited job skills in a community where unemployment was high. He heard that western Canada had lots of jobs, so he used his savings to ride the Greyhound to Calgary. He found a job as a carpenter's helper, earning $15 an hour-more than he dreamed was possible in Quebec. However, he could not afford to rent an apartment.
The first year he lived in Calgary, he worked every day and slept in a men's hostel at night. The shelter is closed during the day, so on his days off, he wandered the streets and spent time in the public library, shopping malls, and cafes. Cut off from his family, friends, and those who spoke his language, Marcel often wondered why he had left his home. The longer he lives in Calgary, the more Francophones he meets. He is gradually changing his expectations, and his hope for the future keeps him going.
Quality of life and wealth: Quality of life does not always improve with more money. In fact, studies have shown that, when people reach a certain level of prosperity in which their basic needs are met, more money does not make them happier. However, the ability of people to meet their basic needs and improve their health care, level of education, and life expectancy does have a direct effect on their level of happiness.
Karen Doidge is a ballet instructor who lives on an acreage in northern Alberta. She is married with no children. Her income is less than $15 000 per year, yet she rates her quality of life as extremely high. Many wonder why she thinks her life is so good when she has such a low income.
Quality of life and human rights: No matter what your income level or your values, a good quality of life is impossible without human rights. Human rights are based on the idea that every person in the world deserves to be treated with dignity. Every human being has worth and is entitled to certain rights, regardless of gender, race, nationality, or religion. In Canada, we may take these rights for granted, but they are far from reality in many nations of the world. In this section, you will consider what human rights are and how they are protected around the world.
The first year he lived in Calgary, he worked every day and slept in a men's hostel at night. The shelter is closed during the day, so on his days off, he wandered the streets and spent time in the public library, shopping malls, and cafes. Cut off from his family, friends, and those who spoke his language, Marcel often wondered why he had left his home. The longer he lives in Calgary, the more Francophones he meets. He is gradually changing his expectations, and his hope for the future keeps him going.
Quality of life and wealth: Quality of life does not always improve with more money. In fact, studies have shown that, when people reach a certain level of prosperity in which their basic needs are met, more money does not make them happier. However, the ability of people to meet their basic needs and improve their health care, level of education, and life expectancy does have a direct effect on their level of happiness.
Karen Doidge is a ballet instructor who lives on an acreage in northern Alberta. She is married with no children. Her income is less than $15 000 per year, yet she rates her quality of life as extremely high. Many wonder why she thinks her life is so good when she has such a low income.
| "My material well-being may not be as high as many people in Alberta but it is satisfactory to me. I have my health and affordable health care. I may not have political power but I have political freedom. My job is secure and I feel in control of issues important to it, and I love northern Canada-the space, the climate, and the wilderness. I have a supportive extended family although my single mother died when I was teenager. My husband and partner in life respects my lifestyle choices. I am from a matriarchal family and have never felt anything but equal. I have a university education because it was affordable although I have not necessarily utilized it to its fullest potential. I enjoy both religious and gender freedom — in fact, the religion within which I was raised was created in an effort to expand religious freedom at the time. I live my childhood dream of a home in the country with my own horses. My "children" all have four legs, and I am eternally thankful that I have had my choice in that matter as well as in so many others." |
| Take the survey on the next page about your quality of life. |
Reflect
Quality of life and human rights: No matter what your income level or your values, a good quality of life is impossible without human rights. Human rights are based on the idea that every person in the world deserves to be treated with dignity. Every human being has worth and is entitled to certain rights, regardless of gender, race, nationality, or religion. In Canada, we may take these rights for granted, but they are far from reality in many nations of the world. In this section, you will consider what human rights are and how they are protected around the world.