Lessons from a New Science by Richard Grenville Layard - Essay Example

Happiness: Lessons from a New Science” by “Richard Grenville Layard” The a leading British economist and renowned government advisor, mentioned a few basic issues that a common man usually ignore in our go-getting to accomplish on a daily basis. The author has strongly advocated that individualism and competition are responsible to weaken the feelings of a normal individual irrespective of class or society. Every individual want to procure as much money as he can, but the happiness cannot be purchased with this money. Money can never be directly related to happiness of the society. It is observed that as people and so the society becomes more affluent in terms of economic matters they do not become happier. This fact was established through research and is being discussed in the book. The book amalgamates psychology, sociology, applied economics and other related fields to understand the conditions generating happiness and motivation in the direction to acquire them for a happier life for individuals and society. We all search ways and means in our own ways to be happy. Money can make those individuals happy who are very poor, they dream of money; governments see the economic growth and compare with those of other nations. These factors are not determining factors for happiness. One example for this is Indonesia where people earn 1/10th of the USA individual but they are equally happy, it is therefore money cannot determine the index of happiness. According to Layard 7 factors are the most prominent factors holding great impact on the happiness of society and its people. They encompass: Family relationship, financial situation, work, community and friends, health, personal freedom, personal values. Of these seven mentioned factors, five most prominent factors that are the sole criterion for making the individual and society happy will be discussed in this article. 1. Family relationship: family do plays an imperative role in the development and thereby, shaping the personality of an individual. Right from childhood, how parents nurture their children do leave a great impact on the psychological development of the individual. A healthy relationship between the parents always bring congenial and progressive attitude in the children. They grow with healthy mind and have the feeling of respect for everyone. This is because they have sensed the love and close bonding between the parents. A person who gets love will definitely give love. This is first step towards happiness. Family provides shelter to its members, a good understanding between the members inculcates feelings of respect towards elders and love for younger. On the other hand if the parents are fighting and quarreling or if the parents are busy in their own pursuits, leaving the partner aloof and children ignored, it inculcates hatred, resentment and bitterness in the members of the family. They grow up as individuals who do not bear respect for anyone and hate towards the society. Divorce, blended family, separation of the parents, demise and single parenthood are prevailing in the modern society. It is leaving a great impact not only in the minds of parents but also to a greater extent in the minds of children. Demands are always on rise but we have to curtail as per our needs, requirement, our budget and above all for our satisfaction to be happy. Money matters in both cases, money can give happiness in terms of the materialistic approach; money can bring big cars, TVs, big house and better recreational facilities, better outing during holidays, more sharing with friends, families and relatives and as a community on the whole. It is therefore good to have enough money for the happiness of family. On the contrary if there is scarcity of money and one is not able to fulfill the basic demands of the family then it leads to agony in an individual which if not dealt with psychological healing leads to corruption, adoption of unfair means to earn more to procure desired commodities to get happiness. This motivates the individual to follow the wrong path to get happiness, howsoever this wrong path also seems just right to the individual. It is therefore upon individual to feel and inculcate what he wants in life to be happy. The path chosen for real contentment. If individuals of society are happy then they can build a good society as family is the basic unit of society. 2. Work: The kind of work and workplace also sets the parameter of individual’s happiness. Any kind of increase in income or extra income leads to the individual happiness thus happiness has correlation with the money. It is therefore in the current scenario public policy is to remove misery to be happy and curtail all those factors that augment happiness of the individual. People are status conscious. Accordingly the status in the society is fixed. Envy is induced in individual minds if there is a large difference in the monetary benefits between two closely related peers. This hampers the happiness. It is therefore imperative that one must find ways and means to eradicate the envy and to sort out the ways to be happy. 3. Community and friends: man is a social animal and all of us hold some kind of social behavior to stay in the society. Friendship and marriage make people happier; unemployment leads to break-up in relationships, making people unhappier. It is observed that people are deeply attached to the status quo; they get closer to likeminded and also to those who are equivalent in status. People like what is recognizable to them. Situations like crime and mental illness are higher in transient or heterogeneous communities. If changes are to be brought in the society then there is a severe cost for the same. It is observed that human nature is highly adaptable. In order to maintain the status with the inflation income enhancing process are also increased just in order to maintain their status and to satisfy their social ego and hence to keep them happy. It is also observed that true friendship never comes in the way of status, those who are good in temperament they are forever friends who are there forever even when the time is difficult. In some cases bad company of people leads to addictions of various kinds which has deleterious impact on health and money diminishing the index of happiness. It is also observed that there is also a kind of social comparison as happiness is obtained from income. According to author there is always a zero-sum-game which decreases the advantages people get from their hardships. It is very difficult to come out of this rat race and be happy. 4. Health: a good health is desired by every living being. Everyone wants to enjoy sound health. It is true in a sense that a sound mind resides in a healthy body and therefore if the individual has sound health, he is the wealthiest of everyone. It is very essential that one must understand. The author has very clearly described money is related to health. If one has money to its happiness and contentment then one is healthy. Money also bring better health care facilities that individual can afford. Better food, better hygiene, better care better medicines can be afforded with money that a poor cannot afford and hence money has direct correlations with the health. Money can bring better exercising equipments to keep oneself happy by keeping fit. If money is spent only on food it may have deleterious effects leading to obesity and hence there should be a check mechanism to keep the things in appropriate order to be happy. 5. Personal values: one must not forget that good feelings expel bad feelings and if one has a temperament to think in a negative way then it inculcates the negativity in thoughts, in actions, in work and surroundings. Every individual has to understand what makes him happy, what makes his family happy, what makes the society happy and must sort out the ways to make things smoother and devoid of stress. Stressed individual can never be happy and thus creates an aura of stress for those who are in the vicinity. Non-fulfillment of demands, injustice, biased temperament of authorities, inability to cope with the growing competition, quench to become millionaire faster are a few parameters that every individual has to set for his/ her development. Every individual has to set morals for self and keeping in view what he can do, keeping in view the limitations that he has, keeping a concern about his own capabilities then he will always be happy. One must fix small, achievable targets to accomplish as fulfillment of one task gives immense happiness. It is individual who has to find ways to be happy. Self satisfaction and self analysis will always keep the individual in positive temperament and the individual will be happy if he is contented with self. Only a self contented person can keep others happy in family and in society. If one is true in deeds, concise, actions, morals and principals laid down by self and also by the society to which he belongs then there will be no place for resentment and agony and we have a better society to live in. It is evident that our society cannot be happier if people are not contended in terms of their achievements and accomplishments. Human beings must unite in these aspects. Happiness depends on one’s inner life as much as on outer experiences. Spiritual practices arraying from meditation to religion to positive psychology can make a difference, as can cognitive therapy to keep the individuals happy. As social beings, we want to trust each other. Average happiness per country (as well as suicide rate) can be explained by 6 factors: percentage of people who say other people can be trusted, section who belong to social organizations, the divorce rate of the society, unemployment rate, the government and its policies, beliefs and myths of religion. References: Layard, R. Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, Penguin Press HC. 2005. Read More