Are Conservatives Happier?

Before I read the following article I would have shouted Hell No! But check out the following article "Conservatives Happier than Liberals." Also please read T's (Republic of T) post on this article. He does a good job of parsing out arguments about such supposed happiness by Conservatives. Here's a teaser:

"Regardless of marital status, income or church attendance, right-wing individuals reported greater life satisfaction and well-being than left-wingers, the new study found. Conservatives also scored highest on measures of rationalization, which gauge a person’s tendency to justify, or explain away, inequalities.

The rationalization measure included statements such as: "It is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than others," and "This country would be better off if we worried less about how equal people are."

Maybe they are happier at that! Go figure. Funny thing of course is that in order for that claim about conservatives being happier than liberals (if we take the labels at face value) to work, the definition of happiness cannot even be "the reduction of suffering" because apparently conservatives are happier regardless of suffering caused by injustice and inequity.

What if we defined happiness as "a place, or state, where enjoyment is obtained?" Ouch! Makes things worse.

Surely we could, in Buddhist fashion, define happiness as contentment with what one has -- and conservatives would have fared better no? Uh, no. That seems to bring the same share of difficulties as noted in the article.

Ok then, what about using the phrase "Happiness is a how, not a what." This is the "happiness as process" argument, oftentimes heard as: You don't find happiness, you make, and choose, happiness. Well heck, this is precisely what the article is claiming. Conservatives make, and choose, happiness alright, but seemingly at the cost of the happiness of others.

Let us try two other definitions:

"Happiness is contagious...when you reflect happiness, then all others around you catch the happy bug and are happy, too." - Jennifer Leese

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." - M. Ghandi

Hmmm, conservatives do not fare well by those two definitions either. The first one seems to falsify the article (in the scientific sense) -- conservatives are happier but others are unhappy. The second one, by Ghandi is troublesome because it is too abstract and disconnected from outcomes, from normativity about the content of one's actions. Evil people could be quite happy carrying out their evil deeds, as long as what they think, what they say, and what they do is seen, by them as harmonious and bringing them joy.

In any case, while much difficulty also lies in taking labels of conservative and liberal as concrete... in your experience, has this relationship between conservatism and happiness proven to be the case?

Comments

[Kendall]

Maybe I shouldn't comment right now. I'm feeling much more unhappy than usual this morning. But I have thought long and hard about the question of what happiness is, and how an ethical person can be happy in a world that's so f'd up. Many spiritual teachers talk about the "great sadness" that is compassion, and they tell us it is possible to be present and filled with gratitude for life and for this moment, and at the same time to be deeply troubled by injustice, by the degradation of the planet, and by the suffering of others. At the moment that includes the suffering of Buddhists who yearn for a free Tibet, the suffering of the Chinese affected by an earthquake more devastating than anything we can imagine, the suffering of people in Darfur and Burma and Zimbabwe, and the personal suffering of each of us who sometimes feels lost in the maze. I have sometimes wondered at the paradox of the term "compassionate conservative." If happiness is a mindless state of bliss induced by screening out all but one's personal comforts and pleasures, than I don't want it. If happiness is being fully alive, aware of the 10,000 things, including great joy and great suffering, then I'll keep aiming for it.

[Kelly McGannon]

Hi Nacho!

I was reading the Tao Te Ching today and came across verse 58 "Alternatives". It seems to fit in with the theme of your blog, so I'm including it here. I also am sorry that I haven't fully addressed your kind comments on my own blog. There's been great sadness afoot and I'm trying to get things together.

"When a government is more benign,
the people are more productive.
When a government is more tyrannical,
the people are more rebellious.

But whatever the government,
if disaster is the bitter fruit of others' good fortune,
how long can such injustice be tolerated?
How long we have endured the hypocrisies!

Those pretending to be righteous act deceitfully.
Those pretending to be religious revert to evil.
We have been deluded!
And each day it becomes worse!

Be firm and armed, but do no harm!
Be as sharp as a knife, but do not cut!
Be ready to transform, but do not provoke!
Illuminate the darkness of ignorance, but do not blind!"

[Barbara]

"It is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than others."

Well I guess not, provided you're the one with greater chance of it and you have no compassion for your fellow man.

"This country would be better off if we worried less about how equal people are."

Ditto.

Denial, smugly blaming people for problems that are out of their control, and hiding one's head in the sand don't constitute happiness by my definition. But maybe that's just me. Silly me.

I recall there were kids who excelled in school and didn't think grading on a curve that meant someone would always fail was a bad thing. After all, it made them look so good. I suspect most of them grew up to be Republicans. But maybe I'm just being mean.

[scruffysmileyface]

Ya know, I actually subscribed to this view for a long time. I think the idea was that all people are inherently equal, and therefore have the same shot at success.

I guess the upshot was that you and I are basically endowed with the same opportunities, regardless of race or gender, handicap or whatever. Therefore, it would be a waste of resources (or a waste of whatever) to devote resources to leveling the playing field.

The way it works is this: I know an African-American woman (actually a [formerly] lower-income African-African who imigrated to Texas) who, by the sweat of her brow, learned English (it's her fifth language), earned a degree and now operates her own business. While at the same time, I know a middle-income White male who never attended college and doesn't run his own business (this person is me).

Stick with me: The obvious implication here is that the one whom you might have assumed had less of a chance at success is actually the one who succeeded.

I think it's not as simple as all that, of course. But by looking at it in this way, I think we can see how the "Conservative" view could make for an easier environment in which to find happiness. Or, contentment.

Just my take on the whole thing.