British and French Alternatives to Jefferson's Pursuit of Happiness

Thomas Jefferson insisted that the phrase "the pursuit of happiness" be kept in the Declaration of Independence.

"The Declaration of the Rights of Man of August 1789 was largely the work of Lafayette, Mirabeau and Jean Joseph Mounier, 'but it derived philosophically from the American Bill of Rights." (While he had been in Paris, Jefferson was constantly consulted in secrecy by Lafayette: the 'pursuit of happiness' became in Lafayette's French, la rescherche du bienentre.)"

[from Peter Watson's Ideas]

John Locke - the British Enlightenment philosopher wrote that natural rights included "life, liberty and property." Jefferson revised that to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Lafayette - the French aristocrat who fought with Washington to help the Americans win their independence before returning to France to spark revolution there - turned Locke's property and Jefferson's pursuit of happiness into "the search for well-being."

Curious how the code that defines one's social norms can lead to such different outcomes.

The British got an empire that spanned the globe - an abundance of property.

The Americans got sitcoms and standup comedy.

The French got existentialism.