Why are secular liberals so unhappy? This question is provocatively discussed in Arthur Brooks' new book Gross National Happiness. Brooks is a sociologist and statistician at Syracuse University. I am reading his book while vacationing with my lovely wife on the beautiful island of Santorini. So it's natural for me, watching the most beautiful sunsets in the world, martini in hand, to think about the question of happiness.
Brooks' book is full of interesting data. We learn, for instance, that money does buy happiness, but only upto a point. Poor people and poor countries are unhappy, and by the self-description of the people involved. So the movement from grinding poverty to the comfortable middle-class brings a huge gain in happiness. But interestingly economic improvement at this point brings diminishing marginal returns. This is not to say that rich people aren't happier: they are. But not by very much.
Brooks also shows that, in his own words, "people who say they are conservative or very conservative are nearly twice as likely to say they are very happy than are people who call themselves liberal or very liberal. Conservatives are much less likely to say they are dissatisfied with themselves, that they are inclined to feel like a failure, or to be pessimistic about their future." Conservatives' mental health is far better than that of liberals.
Equally fascinating, Brooks notes that "faith is an incredible predictor, and cause, of happiness. Religious people of all faiths are much, much happier on average than secularists." Specifically, 43 percent of those who attend church weekly or more call themselves "very happy," versus 23 percent who attend seldom or never. Observant Jews and Christians are by Brooks' measure the happiest people in America.
So why are secular liberals in general so miserable? I offer two reasons. The first is that liberals are political utopians. They consider human nature to be wonderful, and they expect freedom to be used wonderfully well. So they are always bitterly disappointed when they discover that this is not the case. Conservatives, by contrast, have a dimmer view of human nature. So their expectations are more modest. When things don't turn out half-badly, conservatives are pleasantly surprised. They are happier because it takes less to make them happier.
It's not too hard to figure out why religious people are happier. Belief in God gives people a powerful sense of higher purpose in life. It assures people that the universe is in the benign hands of a omnipotent, omniscient, and compassionate higher power. It offers people a code for how to live. It gives us a reason to hope in cosmic justice, which is better than the imperfect justice of our terrestrial world.
By contrast, secular people have little to hope for. They are sure that they came from nowhere--the chance product of random mutation and natural selection--and are going nowhere. They know that terrible things happen, and they don't believe there is any purpose in this. No wonder that secular people have so few children: they have much less reason than religious people to believe in the future.
So why is an atheist like Richard Dawkins so frequently wearing a conspitated scowl? And why am I usually smiling? Some may attribute these differences to our genetic temperaments. Others may put it down to the fact that I live in sunny California, eating healthy nouvelle cuisine and going on walking tours in Santorini. Dawkins, by contrast, lives in dank, rainy England and eats abominable English food. ("May I offer you some more kidney pie, Professor Dawkins? It's somewhat bland, I know, but perhaps it will work as a laxative.")
But Arthur Brooks would probably say that our temperaments are also the consequences of two very different worldviews, one producing the wholesome optimism of What's So Great About Christianity, the other the angry bitterness of The God Delusion. Read Brooks' new book yourself to see if he's right.
Reader Comments ( Page 6 of 42)
76. for Richelle way back @ 6& 12: Sorry, I've been out. O.K., so you didn't expect me to get your point, but c'mon. You accuse DD of being miserable, you tell him to get counseling and finally stomp on him with the line about a lobotomy. Then you insult me and add "misery loves company". Of the 3 of us, who really seems like the unhappy one?
fanman
fanmanaf1 at 3:45PM on May 23rd 2008
77. FlyingV: so once humans became intelligent, it was like a switch that went on, and has been a constant ever since, across the board with everyone that has come since? and every human that has ever lived, had or has the same level of intelligence as the very first? is this what you're saying?
jeff at 3:53PM on May 23rd 2008
78. Fan, why would someone be "unhappy" by criticizing someone?
That's not a sign of unhappiness.
Linda at 3:54PM on May 23rd 2008
79. Brooks notes that "faith is an incredible predictor, and cause, of happiness.
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Didn't pass Stat 101, did he? Correlation isn't the same as causality. This is very basic stuff. Sigh...
Cosmic Canine at 2:04PM on May 29th 2008
80. Mr. Desouza, My pastor wanted to know which members in his congregation were natural born leaders, musically inclined etc.,so one night in a bible study, he gave the congregation a personality profile test he took from a christian author's book...the author concluded that the best way to explain man's personalities and temperaments was based on this book, so he gave us all a copy of it after we took the profile test...I took the personality profile test several times, and each time, I ended up with the same results...I found it very interesting when I compared myself before I became a christian, and after I became a christian, the results were phenominal... I have given it to all of my friends to use as a dating tool, and it really has helped us all to understand ourselves and other people much more, both my husband and I have both taken it, and we are both considered to be compatible temperaments with one another...I truely believe that my christianity belief system and psychology coupled together is THE ANSWER OUT THERE! I have witnessed its effect countless times in other people's lives as well as my own! If you are interested in obtaining this book for your own purposes, the name of the book is "Personality Plus" by Florence Littauer...A TRUELY GREAT READ!
Bridget at 3:57PM on May 23rd 2008
81. jeff what I am saying is: knowledge and technology have increased over the past 10000 years to the present day, but I doubt that humans have changed that dramatically in their cognitive abilities.
JefFlyingV at 4:02PM on May 23rd 2008
82. Hi Linda; crtitcism is o.k., though as Jerry has shown us, the tone & style should be thoughtful & empathic, if possible. What I don't get are the slags about counseling & lobotomy. What's that about?
fanmanaf1 at 4:05PM on May 23rd 2008
83. V: then what would the point of an IQ test be? isn't it to measure someone's level of intelligence? if people today can have different levels of intelligence from each other, what makes you think that this has been a constant over the millenia? even since the testing first began, more and more people have achieved higher IQ's than previous test-takers, showing an increase in intelligence levels. no?
jeff at 4:10PM on May 23rd 2008
84. "the tone & style should be thoughtful & empathic"
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What does that have to do with happiness?
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"What I don't get are the slags about counseling & lobotomy. What's that about?"
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What does that have to do with happiness?
Are you a Kiwi or an Aussie? "Slag" means
"The vitreous mass left as a residue by the smelting of metallic ore."
in the US.
Linda at 4:13PM on May 23rd 2008
85. Also, while I attended a Theological seminary, one of the classes I was required to take was in human relations for youth conflicts...that class changed my whole life completely and delivered me from a very deep depression and a dark place as a young teenager...I think all high schools should have the seminars for the students and I also believe every church in America and abroad should have these seminars taught in them! You would see a different generation of overcomers instead of young people as well as ADULTS committing suicide! A MUST FOR ALL!...the man who teaches these seminars is a christian man by the name of Bill Gothard...If there is one of these seminars in your area, you should DEFINATELY attend! It will save your life! It saved mine!
Bridget at 4:14PM on May 23rd 2008
86. jeff, What is the importance of an I.Q. test? Are you more intelligent than Ptolemy, Pythagorus, Frederick Douglas or DaVinci?
JefFlyingV at 4:16PM on May 23rd 2008
87. Arthur Brooks is a neocon and hardly the type of person you can expect an unbiased opinion on this matter, in fact like many neocon (and liberal) pundits I suspect that he started with an opinion and then slanted his research to support that opinion.
It’s Amazing how often Dinesh undoes or contradicts so many of his previous opinions with each post. In composing this post, Dinesh did not apparently realize how much of his own previous characterizations about liberals he is undoing. I thought we were all supposed to be a bunch of immoral hedonist, traveling to tropical paradises and happily drinking martinis and fornicating without a care in the world. Oh well I guess I was wrong.
Speaking of drugs, do you suppose that it occurred to Dinesh that in championing this premise by Brooks he is lending credence to the argument that religion is the opiate of the masses?
Dinesh and Brooks’ explanation of why religious people are happier than atheists is analogous to the guy who cums after two minutes, rolls over and tells his frustrated partner “I got mine you,
get yours” before he drifts off in to happy dreams of Sugarcandy Mountain.
Who cares if we’re close to ten trillion dollars in debt and the Chinese hold the deed. Who cares that we are not even number five in education, health, longevity, low infant mortality and yes even happiness so long as assholes like Dinesh believe in an afterlife where all of this won’t matter.
And if that’s the case what’s the harm in letting gays marry if according to Dinesh he does not expect people to be perfect.
PS. I suppose it never occurs to Dinesh that Dawkins is always wearing a CONSTIPATED scowl when he’s around because Dawkins is thinking, “Oh crap, here comes that bloody, smugly ignorant Dinesh, with his SHIT EATING grin.”
rabidmccain at 4:17PM on May 23rd 2008
88. Have a blessed memorial weekend everyone
Bridget at 4:19PM on May 23rd 2008
89. Linda,
Slag is a derogatory term for aliens in Alien Nation.
Mokele Mbembe at 4:19PM on May 23rd 2008
90. which equation required more intelligence to develop? A2 + B2 = C2 or E=MC2? humans have become more intelligent...
jeff at 4:21PM on May 23rd 2008