Happiness: Lessons from a New Science - Essay Example

Task Book Review (Happiness: Lessons from a New Science) Introduction In his book, Happiness, Richard Layard explains the development of the concept and its impacts on society. He attempts to define his concept and the quest by individuals to get the happiness that they desire. There can never be an absolute satisfaction gained when looking for the happiness that most people would want to achieve out of life but every individual possesses ultimate definition. Layard expresses that individuals have developed a craving for money and the daily situation gets worse with the harsh economic implications of the society. In the past decades, a study conducted to measure the comfort and happiness level of individuals has revealed that the society has made people less happy. Despite the increase in the income level of these individuals in the past decade, it is revealed that money as a single entity does not offer the remedy to counter unhappiness. With various strategies applied, to measure the trends in Layard’s case happiness, the modern society is capable of identifying measures that would limit success. As an economist, Layard poses a question to individuals in the quest to find happiness asking them what they would do differently to achieve the fete. His opinion opposes the capitalists’ theories that favor the aspect of individualism. Their desire to offer competition in the economic struggling society suggests limited room for improvement in the other social classes that may endeavor to rise from their demeaning state. The book is set in two main parts, the first part that introduces the constraints experienced in the desire to achieve happiness and the second part explaining measures that people implement to increase their happiness. It is often difficult to achieve total progress, and with perfection determining most of the conscious decisions made towards situations, limited progress may be achieved. Happiness is not achieved easily with obstacles impairing the person’s desire to achieve control of positivity towards the entity. Layard argues that there are provisions that counter happiness in the society and are in the form of psychological or mental instability. When people strain and suffer due to external factors that overshadow their economical achievements, there is little realized in the happiness brought by money. There can never be a defined happiness achieved without handling all external impairments of the physical mind. An individual must poses a sober and creative mind free from stress and external pressure from environmental entities to achieve development. There is an indication that money cannot purchase happiness and that the requirement is more advance when the goal that one desires to achieve is set upon happiness. Happiness contains various definitions but the entities imply acquiring the majority of the elements that provides comfort within an individual’s lifestyle. Individuals should strive towards creating platforms that nourish their lifestyle and the society must strive to comfort them by providing access to developmental strategies that promote happiness. This sentiment is shared by the philosopher, Jeremy Bentham in Layard’s book. There is an attempt by individuals to create opportunities that develop their physical packaging neglecting the power of emotional difficulties that may be experienced. Layard seeks to find an origin and the statistics of the entity looking at the moments that make individuals happy with the situation that fulfills the entity. There is an attempt to disclose the societies that boast of happiness and the implications brought by the genetic compositions. In various cases, there may be a tendency to develop an attitude that promotes happiness within the developed attitudes. There are individuals whose genetic composition favor happiness and they mostly promote happiness without the desired economic qualifications. He explains that the desire to feel accomplished and craving for the feeling to last constitutes the definition of happiness (Layard, 12). Being unhappy, in contrast, relays the desire to crave for a difference in the current situation. Mostly, individuals envy people with a more defined lifestyle and possess luxurious properties and may have an attitude towards this definition of happiness. The book teaches that in these situations, what is before the eyes may be deceitful because their definition of happiness may be defined differently. There usually lies a different form of unhappiness because they are subjected to stress in the form of family crises and business instabilities. The sources of happiness and unhappiness are immense, and the ultimate result would involve the implications of such subjections on the individual’s operations. The total experiences and achievement of the individual in meeting their expectations over accumulation of progresses is applied to define their happiness (Layard, 224). The desires to meet happiness are not fully achieved and if achieved, there may be a long struggle to meet their expectations. This fete is continuous, and Layard suggests that the individuals who achieve stability in their form of lifestyle are the ones who embrace happiness. The ability to dictate the aspects that relate to the comfort of the individual in their daily routine would help them take the necessary steps that are needed in acquiring the fete. Layard seeks to explain the meaning of happiness a he asks the question about the society’s current trend by wondering if the current situation in the policies and economy makes as happier. The obvious answer that the book gives is a decline in the overall happiness as experienced in the succeeding years as the society grows more chaotic. In the past, there were limited entities that needed to be met to achieve a form of happiness. However, the current economic trends and the birth of a capitalist society have enslaved the majority. The majority in the society is composed of a struggling class who are mostly after financial stability. Layard draws a difference between the rich who may be faced with different constraints and the middle and low class whose happiness is affected by money. By drawing a clear example of mental and psychological stress that does not discriminate, there is realization that money may not be the absolute solution to happiness. There is an attempt to express the barriers that make individuals less happy as compared to exciting circumstances. These vary from personal attributes to societal aspects that reduce the comfort levels that people create. On may find favor in maintaining a stable level of income in their quest to fulfill environmental challenges. An observation is made when the economical policies adjust the comfort of the individual by heightening the prices of observable commodities in the market and promoting inflation. There is a quest for an increase in income to satisfy this need. Layard expresses that even the individuals who have managed to complete this economical satisfaction have struggled in attaining happiness, and he gives an example of the western society (Layard, 3). The presence of the luxuries in case, houses and money, the wealthy have failed in their quest, in total domination of happiness. The elements that bring unhappiness are sometimes in the mind and entities that handle the psychological aspects of the human mind. Bentham in the book defines the perfect society that is constituted of happy people who are believed to have achieved a comfort zone. In his second part of his book, Layard seeks to find solutions to the impairments towards happiness. He explains that the society fails to find any development if it lacks a similar purpose in task completion. The book leans towards governments’ policies to limit the constraints that people face in the environment like unemployment that is a leading cause of unhappiness globally. The US leads the global world in the level of happiness followed by France and Germany; they offer health care incentives to their citizens and enough packages in holiday setting. However, there are various entities that he considers fulfilling the aspect of happiness at an individual setting. He attributes family relationships as the leading factor as people desire company and love when faced with challenges. Secondly, there needs to be a form of financial stability that enables people access various luxuries that improve happiness standard. Unemployment is considered an obstacle and individuals are urged to seek work because they help to achieve the financial stability and develop social relations (Layard, 67). Companionship is also experienced in the society that individuals live in and their desire to make friends. With most of these attributes in the possession of the individual, there is a level of quality health achieved. The comfort normally lies in the physical and mental satisfaction. An environment that allows individuals to express their desires and offers them freedom is marked as a happiness generating entity. People gain happiness when they appreciate their possessions and their lifestyle mode. Conclusion Layard explains that happiness may not be achieved by possession of the most finances in the society. He explains that even the rich individuals often complain of being unhappy. To understand happiness, there must be general acceptance of the resources that the individual possesses. The mind sets the desires that must be fulfilled to gain the comfortable feeling most people crave. Generally, the society defines the level of happiness in its individuals. Work Cited Layard, Richard. Happiness: Lessons from a New Science. London. Penguin Press, 2005. Read More