Why The Politics Of Happiness Makes Furedi Mad

Submitted by tonyplant on May 27, 2006 - 17:30.

Somewhere or other, Frank Furedi claims that in the UK and US,

self-reliance and problem-solving through informal relationships have been gradually replaced by a therapeutic culture that, by medicalising everyday behaviour, encourages helplessness and promotes new forms of social control.

More recently, amongst various other protestations about the politicisation of happiness and the rise of the 'therapeutic state', Furedi writes:

Individuals are no longer seen as self-determining subjects capable of exercising democratic citizenship, but rather as potentially ‘damaged goods’ who need the support of professionals and Layard’s army of 10,000 counsellors to instruct them on how to be contented...The new therapeutic social contract is underwritten by the paternalistic assumption that the unhappy patient needs the management and ‘support’ of officialdom...Public policies delivered by thousands of therapists are likely to turn the public citizen into a helpless patient – and the focus on the self will likely reinforce people’s sense of atomisation...

I need to write a fuller response to Furedi's piece - amongst his other arguments is that

Rather than causing us to be unhappy, hard, purposeful work is often the means through which we cultivate our own sense of happiness.

I wouldn't disagree with him - and I doubt that the mainstream happiness researchers would either. Happiness is not solely concerned with hedonism, self-indulgence or the abdication of personal responsibility: it is not necessarily either ridiculous or politically dangerous. Authentic happiness (to use the Seligman term) encompasses the need for work and engagement in life. Happiness demands involvement, it is rarely something that can be delivered solely by external means.

read more | add new comment | Seligman | resilience | laugh-a-thon | happiness | furedi | Authentic Happiness

Happiness As Flexibility Of Mind and Openness?

Submitted by tonyplant on February 15, 2006 - 16:56.

There are several classic experiments that are summarised and commented on in Prof. Seligman’s Authentic Happiness. The consistent result is that positive emotion allows us to be more flexible, creative and open to new ideas.

I was thinking about this today when I read the explosion of comments on the topic of ME on the excellent NHS Blog Doc. The original article discusses the dilemma that faces Dr. Crippen when asked to provide a sick note for a patient with ME, a condition that he does not “believe in”. Take a look at the comments and the references that are provided in them. They are truly fascinating, and they seem genuinely to be contributing to a desire to learn by the GP in question. Dr. Crippen seems to be taking a real-time journey of listening and discovery that leads to him discussing a new assessment of his patients who currently have the label, ME.

I was recently lamenting that depression and anxiety statistics should not be used to comment on the prevalence of happiness. And I was exposing my thinking on various matters (such as the diagnosis or treatment of depression). I’m actually quite comfortable with holding “on the one hand this, on the other hand...” opinions. I just find it difficult when talking with people who want a definitive viewpoint.

read more | 2 comments | Seligman | positive emotion | happiness | dr. crippen | depression | Authentic Happiness