Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--And How We Can Get More of It

Using factual data. Arthur Brooks shows what factors in people's lives actually make a difference and how to influence them. He leaves religion on the side and uses data. Amazing read. Everyone should be given this book. Complete paradigm shift.

Arthur C. Brooks has written quite the book, "Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America and How We Can Get More of It." The volume is a puree of statistics blended with the author's interpretations of those statistics. Whether you agree with Brooks' analysis or not, the statistics engage the mind. The Book is broken into two main sections: "The Culture of Happiness" and "The Economics of Happiness." The first section is the book's strength, the latter is less convincing, although the chapter asking "Does Money Buy Happiness" is right on the mark. I do not see eye to eye with the premise of the book, namely, that personal happiness is the measuring stick for the choices we (or the government) should make. To my way of thinking, a standard of righteousness trumps the "happiness card" and takes the trick: It is more important to do what is right than to be happy. Yet happiness comes near the top, so I think it is important to observe what is correlated with happiness -- and what is not. Here are a few fascinating correlations when it comes to happienss: In 2004, 22% of secular liberals claimed to be very happy, while 50% of religious conservatives made that claim. In that same year, 42% of married people claimed to be very happy, while 17% of divorced people, 20% of widowed people, and 23% of never married people made that claim. Overall, 31% of the population claimed to be very happy, 55% happy, and 13% "not too happy." Those of us who consider ourselves to be very happy have long noted that cynical, critical, and bitter types are unhappy. They seem bent on spreading their gloom to others, and nothing aggravates them more than we "mindless" happy individuals. We could not help but observe how religious people and people who accept absolute values seem happier, so these statistics mesh with life experience. But it is interesting to see the actual stats that verify our personal conclusions. The second half of the book, dealing with government policies, etc,, is constructed upon more interpretative grounds. Correlations are always tricky (and the author repeatedly cautions readers in this regard), and it is tempting to confuse correlations with causes. It could very well be that unhappy people prefer certain types of government, while happy people prefer other types. I found this a book WELL WORTH READING, although it may anger unhappy individuals. My experience in dealing with people (I am a 30-year veteran of pastoral ministry) is that unhappy people do not enjoy being unhappy, but they really like the way of thinking that creates unhappiness.

Arthur C. Brooks has written quite the book, "Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America and How We Can Get More of It." The volume is a puree of statistics blended with the author's interpretations of those statistics. Whether you agree with Brooks' analysis or not, the statistics engage the mind. The Book is broken into two main sections: "The Culture of Happiness" and "The Economics of Happiness." The first section is the book's strength, the latter is less convincing, although the chapter asking "Does Money Buy Happiness" is right on the mark. I do not see eye to eye with the premise of the book, namely, that personal happiness is the measuring stick for the choices we (or the government) should make. To my way of thinking, a standard of righteousness trumps the "happiness card" and takes the trick: It is more important to do what is right than to be happy. Yet happiness comes near the top, so I think it is important to observe what is correlated with happiness -- and what is not. Here are a few fascinating correlations when it comes to happienss: In 2004, 22% of secular liberals claimed to be very happy, while 50% of religious conservatives made that claim. In that same year, 42% of married people claimed to be very happy, while 17% of divorced people, 20% of widowed people, and 23% of never married people made that claim. Overall, 31% of the population claimed to be very happy, 55% happy, and 13% "not too happy." Those of us who consider ourselves to be very happy have long noted that cynical, critical, and bitter types are unhappy. They seem bent on spreading their gloom to others, and nothing aggravates them more than we "mindless" happy individuals. We could not help but observe how religious people and people who accept absolute values seem happier, so these statistics mesh with life experience. But it is interesting to see the actual stats that verify our personal conclusions. The second half of the book, dealing with government policies, etc,, is constructed upon more interpretative grounds. Correlations are always tricky (and the author repeatedly cautions readers in this regard), and it is tempting to confuse correlations with causes. It could very well be that unhappy people prefer certain types of government, while happy people prefer other types. I found this a book WELL WORTH READING, although it may anger unhappy individuals. My experience in dealing with people (I am a 30-year veteran of pastoral ministry) is that unhappy people do not enjoy being unhappy, but they really like the way of thinking that creates unhappiness.

Brooks sets out to discover who is happy, and why. The information is likely to surprise you. For one thing, "Religious people of all faiths are much, much happier than secularists" (p 44). The difference is huge. "Of those who believed there is no way to find out if God exists, a paltry 12% claimed to be very happy people" (p 46). Hmmm...no wonder Dawkins and Hitchens' books drip with unhappiness and malice. And here's one those famous atheists will really gag on: "Religious individuals today are actually better educated and less ignorant of the world around them than secularists" (p 51). Married people are happier than those who are single, too. Researchers studied people who seemed alike "but one is married and the other is not, the married person will be 18 percentage points more likely than the unmarried person to say he or she is very happy" (61). This will come a as a blow to the feminists. Among the nations, North Korea is at the bottom of the happiness scale, with Cuba a close second (p 91). What, atheist communism hasn't brought happiness? Shocker. On the other hand, mere wealth doesn't help much, once a country has achieved a decent level of health and nutrition. At least the wealth of Japan is not helping. And Mexicans are much happier, on average, than the French. And here is one I would not have guessed: "For most Americans, job satisfaction is nearly equivalent to life satisfaction. Among those who say they are very happy in their lives, 95% are also satisfied with their jobs" (p 159). This is a interesting and fun.

This is a terrific report on the subject of subjective well-being. The data is accurate & well researched. This book is a good read. Sharon Albert Psy.D