Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--and How We Can Get More of It [Hardcover]

Arthur C. Brooks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 2008

Who are the happiest Americans? Surveys show that religious people think they are happier than secularists, and secularists think they are happier than religious people. Liberals believe they are happier than conservatives, and conservatives disagree. In fact, almost every group thinks it is happier than everyone else. In this provocative new book, Arthur C. Brooks explodes the myths about happiness in America. As he did in the controversial Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism, Brooks examines vast amounts of evidence and empirical research to uncover the truth about who is happy in America, who is not, and-most important-why. He finds that there is a real “happiness gap” in America today, and it lies disconcertingly close to America’s cultural and political fault lines. The great divide between the happy and the unhappy in America, Brooks shows, is largely due to differences in social and cultural values. The values that bring happiness are faith, charity, hard work, optimism, and individual liberty. Secularism, excessive reliance on the state to solve problems, and an addiction to security all promote unhappiness. What can be done to maximize America’s happiness? Replete with the unconventional wisdom for which Brooks has come to be known, Gross National Happiness offers surprising and illuminating conclusions about how our government can best facilitate Americans in their pursuit of happiness.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Arthur Brooks makes me--how else to put it?--happy. He makes me grossly, nationally happy. If you want to be a real American you need to pause in your life and your liberty and pursue some happiness by reading this book." -- P.J. O'Rourke

"Arthur Brooks may be the most innovative and creative analyst of public policy in America today. His insights are in a different league and may lead to an entirely new approach to thinking through public policy. Gross National Happiness is a must read for every person who wants to understand what policies America needs." -- Newt Gingrich

"Happiness is God, marriage, and work. A Republican campaign slogan? No: hard science, as collected by Arthur C. Brooks, emerging as one of the leading--and most original--social observers of his generation." -- David Frum, author of Dead Right and Comeback

"Happiness is an idea etched into our national creed. But what does it mean, exactly? With intriguing statistics and engaging examples, Arthur Brooks explores what makes us happy, which types of people are happiest, and what it means for our nation's future. Gross National Happiness is a fresh look on one of America's oldest tenets--how the pursuit of happiness makes America great." -- Carl J. Schramm, president and chief executive officer of the Kauffman Foundation and author of The Entrepreneurial Imperative

"In this splendid volume, Arthur C. Brooks cements his reputation as one of the nation's premier students of American society. Always driven by data--not ideology--he offers an authoritative account of the social bases of happiness. Just as important, he explores the public policy implications of his findings. It is a fun read, and should put a smile on the face of even the most unhappy among us." -- William A. Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

"Is anybody happy in America? Actually, a lot of Americans are--and they're not necessarily the ones you'd think. In Gross National Happiness, Arthur Brooks tells us why supposedly crabby conservatives are actually happier than supposedly lighthearted liberals--and what all of us can do to find more happiness in our lives." -- Michael Barone, Senior Writer for U.S. News & World Report and co-author of The Almanac of American Politics

About the Author

Arthur C. Brooks is Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The author of Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism, Brooks writes widely about the connections between culture, politics, and economic life in America, and his work appears frequently in the Wall Street Journal and other publications. He is a native of Seattle, Washington, and currently lives in Syracuse, New York, with his wife Ester and their three children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 277 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; First Edition edition (April 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465002781
• ISBN-13: 978-0465002788
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #487,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who is happy and why?, May 4, 2008

By 

Brian Ogan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--and How We Can Get More of It (Hardcover)

Using cold, hard statistics from the past several years around the globe, Arthur Brooks reviles who is the most warm and fuzzy inside. From that the author states what policies the United States is doing that helps or hurts our GNH. The only problem with it is that it seems destined to become a political and not Sociology book due to his findings. Despite saying, for example, there are happy secular liberals (there is just fewer of them), it is getting bashed by the left while praised by the right. Both of which is a shame, since his true purpose is to show why certain people are happy, not necessarily how to make one happy, from an individual standpoint. He isn't saying conservatives are better politically. Just more likely to be happy.

The only time he does show how to make happiness is where he puts down what our leaders national agenda should be if we want higher GNH. He is looking at the macro level, not the micro. Topics explored include: political affiliation (conservative vs. liberal only; there is no data on libertarians or more specific affiliations yet), religion, family (does kids and marriage really bring happiness?), freedom and security (does the Patriot Act affect our GNH?), work, and money.

I wish there was more content for the price, which is why I'm only giving it 4 stars. Hopefully this might start some new studies to fill in the gaps.

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Secularists are not going to like this book, July 3, 2008

By 

Jeri Nevermind "loves to read" (Idaho) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--and How We Can Get More of It (Hardcover)

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.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some of the secrets of true happiness revealed -- or reiterated, May 22, 2008

By 

Christopher Barat (Owings Mills, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--and How We Can Get More of It (Hardcover)

The author of "Who Really Cares," the tome that turned popular stereotypes about charitable behavior on their heads, is back with more data regarding which groups in the American population report high levels of happiness. No doubt, most outside attention will focus on the very first chapter, wherein Brooks displays that conservatives have consistently been happier than liberals from the early 70s up until the present, but those who toss the book aside in disgust will miss some important insights. Some of the keys to happiness outlined by Brooks include practicing a religious faith, enjoying a happy married life, working at a job with meaning, and giving back to others through charity. A general theme that runs through all of these is that those who refuse to accept victimhood - and instead take steps towards gaining control over those parts of life that can be controlled - are bound to enjoy happy lives. Not a shocking conclusion in and of itself, but it does fly in the face of redistributionist theories that simply "shifting money around" to equalize income will make everyone feel better, not to mention emphases on the god of "self-esteem" (it's always best to strengthen one's own sense of self-worth, as opposed to relying on others to fill our tanks). Lest you think that this is just some partisan screed, Brooks also cautions us that those at both political extremes are among our happiest citizens - and, for that reason, their "tyrannical certainties" should be allowed as little control over our political process as possible. The book gets a little repetitive at times and lifts some of its insights directly from "Who Really Cares," but it's a worthy companion piece to Brooks' earlier volume.