The past several years have seen a flurry of books and articles on the new scientific study of happiness, which is alleged to have discovered, among other things, that though we are growing ever wealthier, we are growing no happier in our wealth. Whether or not the studies are right, it is indisputable that citizens of the world's wealthy liberal democracies are fixated on the question of happiness as never before. What are the sources of our redoubled worries about happiness? What does our concern say about our culture and its aspirations? Are we in fact stuck in a happiness rut, despite our material splendor? Is our wealth getting us down? Is our fascination with the causes and correlates of life satisfaction in fact a symptom of well-being? Can government make us feel better? Should it even try?
This month's conversation starts with a provocative lead essay from Darrin M. McMahon, Ben Weider Associate Professor of History at Florida State University and author of Happiness: A History. We'll then hear from Swarthmore College psychologist Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less; Erasmus University sociologist Ruut Veenhoven, editor of the Journal of Happiness Studies and director of the World Database of Happiness; and Cato Unbound's own Will Wilkinson, author of a new Cato study, "In Pursuit of Happiness Research: Is It Reliable? What Does It Imply for Policy."
This month's conversation starts with a provocative lead essay from Darrin M. McMahon, Ben Weider Associate Professor of History at Florida State University and author of Happiness: A History. We'll then hear from Swarthmore College psychologist Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less; Erasmus University sociologist Ruut Veenhoven, editor of the Journal of Happiness Studies and director of the World Database of Happiness; and Cato Unbound's own Will Wilkinson, author of a new Cato study, "In Pursuit of Happiness Research: Is It Reliable? What Does It Imply for Policy."
