[DickingAround]

"In olden times, the average person didn't expect to be happy" - I don't think that statement is supported by any evidence or logic. People are happy sometimes even when they're food-scarce. Only the dead are truly never happy.

Similarly, the concept of 'pursuit of happiness' then referenced was a sort of adaptation of the 'right to property'.

Perhaps this article would be stronger with a deeper research into history of people a few hundred years ago, or philosophy of work/life at that time.

[mvp]

That sentence was followed by 'Life could be a struggle for survival with hard work and adversity at every corner. Marriages were arranged by parents and if, after 20 years, the couple hated each other, there was no option to divorce.'. So, if you don't struggle for survival, and don't have to work hard, and are not hit by adversity, and not forcely married to a person you don't like, then you may be happy. That seems a reasonable assumption considering the objective of the essay.