WHY ARE WE HAPPY?

I was going to title this post "Your mother was right" but the theme is the same. Mother always said "you can't buy happiness" or "Money does not make you happy". There is a political aspect to happiness and as we all know but the facts may surprise you.

Parents are happier than non-parents, yet when researchers ask parents what they enjoy, looking after their kids is very, very far down the list--well after eating, shopping, exercising, cooking, praying, and even watching TV. Brooks argues that the paradox of parents being happier yet not enjoying the primary task of being a parent (that is looking after one's children) can be explained by noting that while irritating in the short-term, children can bring meaning to life in the long-term. Another factor is that happy people are more likely to have children (note the issue of causation versus correlation).

Conservatives are happier than liberals. Self-described conservatives have been found to classify themselves as "very happy" nearly twice as often as those who call themselves "liberal" or "very liberal". This is not a new trend and has been true for at least the past 35 years. Interestingly this is not because of income differences between the groups (which have been isolated in the study), instead Brooks believes it is because: a) Conservatives are twice as likely to be married; b) Twice as likely to attend church; and c) More likely to have children. Brooks believes that, putting merits aside, the conservative viewpoint is more conducive to happiness than a liberal viewpoint. "Conservatives tend to believe that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can succeed. this makes them more optimistic than liberal, more likely to feel in control of their lives and therefore happier. American liberals, at their most pessimistic, stress the injustice of the economic system, the crushing impersonal forces that keep the little guy down."

Extremists (liberal or conservative) are happier than moderates. In short, those with extreme political viewpoints are more likely to be happy, and Brooks believes this is because "they are certain that they are right." (Of course this is measuring personal happiness, no one would argue that being around extremists--particularly those with a different viewpoint--brings much happiness.)

In addition conservative tend to be more optimistic about the future and less likely to see themselves, or others, as victims. Liberals are more likely to see themselves and others as victims of circumstance and oppression, and doubt whether individuals can climb without governmental help. Consider a bit of evidence.

• The 2005 Maxwell Poll on Civic Engagement and Inequality asked, “How much upward mobility — children doing better than the family they come from — do you think there is in America: a lot, some, or not much?” Among those sampled, 48 percent of below-average income conservatives believed there’s “a lot,” versus 26 percent of upper-income liberals.

• In the same poll, 90 percent of the poorer conservatives agreed that, “While people may begin with different opportunities, hard work and perseverance can usually overcome those disadvantages.” Just 65 percent of richer liberals agreed.

• The liberal-conservative differences on these questions persist when we control not just for income, but also for education, sex, family situation, religion, and race.

You can read these entire articles here and here.