Rowlands links

Blog

The RSA has been carefully following the upsurge in political interest in happiness. David Willets and Paul Ormerod debated Happiness, Economics and Public Policy last year. Richard Layard is a regular visitor.

Psychologists looking at happiness consistently pin the blame on consumer culture. Too much choice is bad for us, according to Psychology Today. For Tim Kasser (who also spoke here recently), materialism is the problem. It’s not clear that this metric explains national and regional differences in happiness levels, though. Or sudden shifts in national mood.

It remains an open question whether we can legislate for happiness. Eric G. Wilson’s Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy is a tidy polemic, although the Economist review wasn’t too favourable. Maybe the philosopher Peter Singer has it right: we can’t outlaw unhappiness, but we can prevent depression.

None of this is new, of course. Of contemporary thinkers, only Daniel Gilbert has really taken on board J. S. Mill’s autobiographical paradox: "Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so." Darrin McMahon’s Happiness: A History is a useful corrective to the present-mindedness of this debate.

Be the first to write a comment

0 Comments

Please login to post a comment or reply

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Related articles

  • Regenerative capitalism: a new era of economics

    Andy Haldane Alexa Clay

    It’s time to move to a new flavour of capitalism that puts people, place and planet first. RSA chief executive Andy Haldane and RSA US director Alexa Clay discuss the benefits of regenerative capitalism.

  • Cost-of-living crisis: schools on the front line

    Nik Gunn

    The cost-of-living crisis is forcing schools to go above and beyond as they support their communities. Using real-world teacher survey responses, Nik Gunn explores the knock-on effects for youth social action.

  • The young changemakers of the RSA Fellowships

    Maeve Devers

    We're shining a light on these young Fellows and their passion, knowledge, creativity, and drive to deliver social change.