Why Happiness Can Be Politically Dangerous

Submitted by tonyplant on April 29, 2006 - 11:12.

I recently wondered why some people can resent the happiness of others. Today, I've just come across an article that discusses the ideological dangers of public policies to promote happiness.

Happiness is dangerous territory... The science cuts across ideology. Progressive politicians enthusiastically embrace findings which suggest that the redistribution of wealth is good for our well-being...[T]raditionalists prefer the scientific papers showing that marriage (rather than cohabitation) has a hugely positive effect on happiness; and that God and the Boy Scouts add to the sum of human contentment while entertainment TV and multiculturalism tend to reduce it.

There is some uneasiness over the scientific support for happiness where it contradicts social politics or attitudes.

The chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, Trevor Phillips, does not shy away from the scientific evidence. "We've done work here which shows that people, frankly, when there aren't other pressures, like to live within a comfort zone which is defined by racial sameness," he told me. "People feel happier if they're with people who are like themselves. But the question is: what does 'like themselves' mean?"

Public policies to promote happiness can be fraught with ideological problems. What does this say about individual strategies to promote personal happiness? Maybe that even when you know the benefits of being on the other side and the distance is within range, the jump itself is still a leap of faith?

Copyright 2006, Tony Plant Happystance Project

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