Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Please do not write a review of this book if you heard about it on NPR, but did not read the book. Please judge this book on its merit. The facts are clearly explained and unfortunatley liberals aren't going to react well to the info. They will try to explain the finding of this book by demeaning conservatives as benefiting from their own stupidity (the "ignorance is bliss" idea);however, this only further supports the idea that many liberals are miserable elitists who perceive conservatives as simple (ironically not seeing the nuances themselves in a perspective that fully comprehends moral nuances, but understands the black/white persepctive to be more beneficial for society and personal happiness).

This book was motivated by the fact although "the pursuit of happiness" is enshrined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, "little has been done ... to find out what actually makes America a happy nation" (front inside of dustcover). The book argues that what make America happy are: political orientation, marriage, income (albeit unequal), giving to charity, and work. These are the subjects of the chapters of the book, divided into parts: "The culture of happiness" and "the economics of happiness." The latter is a misnomer for the "business of happiness."

The first part consists of four chapters and the second includes a few more chapters. While Part I focuses on non-monetary matters like family, religion, and such, Part II is mainly about the connections of happiness to money; how money can sometimes "buy" happiness; and why inequality, no matter how bad, does not prevent individual upward mobility. In the end the book concludes that happiness is a personal and internal condition; if someone wants it, he/she must work full-time for it. Among the chapters of Part II, Chapter 8 on giving to charity as "the secret of buying happiness" is simply the greatest.

The book ends with a list of prescriptions for happiness: avoiding extremism, having a religious faith, having a decent family life, serving and protecting freedom, promoting equality of opportunities for all, celebrating work, giving to charity, respecting the humanity of others including enemies, and limiting government involvement in the business of life. Some of the prescriptions derive beautifully from the analyses of the book, and some appear to be ideological afterthoughts - poorly articulated and perhaps not even necessary. But, hey, why stress the negative when the purpose of writing is to communicate thoughts freely? No one should be penalized for sharing their thoughts. A good read.

Amavilah, Author
Modeling Determinants of Income in Embedded Economies
ISBN: 1600210465
http://www.amazon.com/Modeling-Income-Determinants-Embedded-Economies/dp/1600210465%3FSubscriptionId%3D1NNRF7QZ418V218YP1R2%26tag%3Dbookfindercom0e%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D1600210465

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.

I was most impressed that the author is not trying to force his personal views upon the readers. To quote from the introduction, "This book is based completely on data - large surveys conducted by the best and most impartial data-collection organizations in the world - as well as on a synthesis of the work of the finest researchers currently working on the subject of happiness." Every elected person, from our local school boards to the President of the USA should read this book. The data in this book proves that many of the efforts to resolve our Nation's problems only result in worse conditions and wasted tax dollars. The book is easy to read and the information is facinating.

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.

This book offers some genuinely surprising bits of data. Having read so much critique of religions it is pleasant to read that at least in U.S. religious people are happy. (Trend is similar everywhere) There is a clear conservative viewpoint in this book, but it is good to have a balancing view. Liberals are much more active writers, because they are not happy according the research reported in the book! There is much that I like in this book, but because the roots of recession are in U.S. the tone of the book is sometimes irritating. Similarly the critique of European life is not always pertinent. Brooks does not talk much about Scandinavia and Finland which are both the happiest and they also have high quality life. (Though recession is hitting them, too.)Emphasis on well-fare state does not kill happiness. Brooks discusses mainly Southern Europe, which has catholic tradition - his own. There is very little if anything about protestant ethic in the book. Recent UNESCO evaluation of children's life gives the lowest ratings to U.S. and Great Britain. Holland and Scandinavia are the top countries. The number of persons in prisons is huge in U.S. Are they included in the Gallup studies? U.S. may be among the happiest countries, but the cost is high. I mean especially the overuse of common resources. - But as I said, it is good to read something positive about U.S. though it may not be the whole truth. I am sure Brooks would answer: I speak about happiness, not about greenhouse effect or energy crisis. Anyway, the least balanced section is the chapter about equality of wealth and other related matters. There is data which shows that equality is related to happiness when countries are compared. The second part I find unbalanced starts on page 171. According to Brooks European work system is not as good as the American one and makes workers unhappy. The European workers want security, but this brings unemployment, because employers do not dare to hire new workers ant the old ones are afraid to leave. He mentions that workers Switzerland, Austria and Denmark are even more satisfied than Americans, but does not tell why. The matter is much more complicated than Brooks lets us believe. Chapter 8 is great, however. This alone would need fife stars. Read at least this chapter!

Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America--and How We Can Get More of It
Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

Brooks is a professor of business and government policy at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and Whitman School of Management. With 32 pages of notes, Brooks does not rely on anecdotal information to make his arguments, he depends on solid research. Using engaging statistics and valuable examples, he offers an authoritative account of the social bases of happiness. There are two parts to this book: 1) The Culture of Happiness, and 2) The Economics of Happiness. Individual chapter titles will let you know if this book is for you (there are four in each part): 1) The politics of happiness, 2) Happiness is a gift from above, 3) Is happiness a family value?, 4) Staying happy in the age of freedom and insecurity. Part 2 includes: 5) Does money buy happiness?, 6) Inequality and (Un)happiness in America, 7) Happiness is a full-time job, and 8) The secret to buying happiness. Brooks says, "So at least 50 percent of one's happiness level is a given [genetic], the product of nature. If less than half is subject to outside influence, or nurture, can an investigation of the values associated with happy people really be that useful? Is there any point to gathering this information? The answer, I believe, is `yes'" (p. 11). And this book supplies the content for affecting the other 50%. This is a well-written, thoroughly documented, interesting examination, that is worth your serious attention.