Happiness and Culture

By Vida Penezic

Abstract

Sciences that study happiness agree on the following: a. To be happy we need both positive emotions and a feeling that, overall, our life has a purpose; b. Different people find pleasure and purpose in different things; and c. Once the basic needs are met, most of us can learn how to be happier. Popular ideas about happiness develop in real economic, social, political, and cultural conditions, and they are often modified by these conditions. I look at what happens when the scientific findings about happiness and how to best pursue it meet market economy. I propose that we see the rise of the new happiness industry, defined as a group of scholars, manufacturers and businesses whose purported product (or byproduct) is their customers’ increased happiness. These businesses often help spread the latest views by adapting them for popular use.