Selling Happiness, One Chump at a Time
![We are not water pills. We are highly scientific magic pills based on an ancient organic recipe. [1]](pills.webp)
We are not water pills. We are highly scientific magic pills based on an ancient organic recipe. [1]
What if I told you that just one of these pills a day, every day, for the rest of your life, would ensure that you were never unhappy again? Only three dollars a pill, to never be sad. Would you do it? No? Well, we’re not as famous as Gwyneth Paltrow, but at least what we’re selling you is to be taken orally… And we were careful not to frame our claims in ways that would run afoul of advertising laws in the United States.
There is a massive market for happiness. This isn’t surprising, as happiness is something many of us lack and crave in equal measure. A common means by which people attempt to resolve this craving is through consumption: buying our way to happiness. Of course, there is just one small problem with the commodification of happiness, which is that, for some reason, the process of acquiring consumer goods for oneself does not seem to actually make (or keep) people happy. So if making a huge amount of money is in fact what makes you happy, perhaps get into this market! Of course, making a huge amount of money is also not a good way of becoming or staying happy. Having some money rather than none does make a difference for those who were initially very poor, but materialistic people (who gain the most satisfaction from having more money) tend to be less happy than the rest of us.
![Gwyneth Paltrow's (in)famous Jade Egg [2]](jade-egg.webp)
Gwyneth Paltrow's (in)famous Jade Egg [2]
Another problem facing the consumer, in pursuit of happiness, is known in the literature as hedonic adaptation (or, the hedonic treadmill). This idea claims that, while we may get short term boosts in happiness from changes in our circumstances, our happiness will quickly return to the status quo as we become accustomed to our new condition. We adapt to our new environment, and our happiness returns to baseline. Now, if you run a business selling happiness (well, ‘wellness’) to people, hedonic adaptation seems like a feature rather than a bug. Your customers will keep coming back to get a fresh hit of happiness every time their happiness levels return to baseline. If you are pursuing happiness, however, this seems more like a problem.
So, can we really improve our happiness, and if so, how?
Outside of the wellness industry and its $$$-scented promises, the broader field of happiness interventions offers us some hope. Positive Psychological Interventions constitute a significant research programme within Positive Psychology, and proponents of Positive Psychological Interventions have argued that, while consumerism is unlikely to result in lasting changes to your base levels of happiness, some other things might. What sort of things? Well, it isn’t the vagina-scented candles or happiness enhancing essential oils. Rather, the kinds of happiness interventions that work are things such as expressing gratitude for the good things that have happened to you recently (‘counting one’s blessings’), imagining good things for oneself (‘visualising one’s best self’), and, of course, leaning into the things you are good at, and utilising those things in new ways (the terribly named ‘strengths use’ model). Not exactly a quick and easy solution to the problem of sadness. Indeed, many Positive Psychologists understand happiness and wellbeing as multi-faceted states that require a range of activities and conditions to fully achieve. Martin Seligman, for example, argues for a holistic approach to the development of happiness and wellbeing, which he calls PERMA, an acronym for Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning (purpose), and Accomplishments. Each of these is, on his account, an independent contributor to wellbeing, and each should be pursued distinctly from the others.
Epicureanism: The Basic Idea
Ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BC) believes that the way to ensure happiness throughout life is to reduce one’s desires so that they can be easily fulfilled.
At this stage, you might be thinking that we have gone well past interventions, and into the realm of making concerted systematic changes to the way in which you run your life. Does this sound too hard? What did you expect? Oh, that’s right; you wanted to buy some stuff to get happy quick. Perhaps you still think you can if someone just told you the right things to buy. Or maybe you think that, at least in the short term, you can increase your happiness just by buying stuff. Well, maybe, but in terms of the short-term happiness that you will generate for yourself, buying more things seems less effective than, say, investing in recreational drugs, which could do wonders for your short-term happiness. There may, of course, be other risks associated with them which are not present in purchasing consumer products, so we cannot in good conscience advise you to choose the drug option. Instead, perhaps consider an Epicurean approach to overcoming your lack of happiness and the associated cravings for it – turn away from eggs, candles, and other external sources of happiness, and focus on being happy with yourself as you are. It isn’t just cheaper, it might also work!
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Notes
[1] Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/pills-medical-medicine-health-drug-1800347/; uploaded by diapicard.
[2] Source: https://shop.goop.com/shop/products/jade-egg?country=USA
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Dan Weijers is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Waikato. His main research interests are wellbeing, moral judgments, and the ethics of new and emerging technologies. Dan is a founding co-editor of the International Journal of Wellbeing, founding member of the Australasian Experimental Philosophy Research Group, international editorial board member of Rowman & Littlefield’s book series on “Behavioural Applied Ethics”, and editorial review board member for the International Journal of Technoethics. He has published in philosophy, psychology, economics, and public policy journals. More information and links to publications can be found at www.danweijers.com.
Nick Munn is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Waikato. He works on Political Theory (with a focus on issues of enfranchisement) and Applied Ethics (with a focus on the status of virtual worlds and virtual actions). His publications include The Reality of Friendship within Immersive Virtual Worlds (2012), Friendship and Modern Life (2017), Against the Political Inclusion of the Incapable (2018), and Political Inclusion as a Means of Generating Justice for Children (2020).
Lorenzo Buscicchi is a PhD Candidate at the University of Waikato. His thesis, which employs the methods of affective science, is on the nature and value of pleasure. Lorenzo is the lead author of ‘The Paradox of Happiness: The more you chase it the more elusive it becomes’ in The Conversation Yearbook 2019: 50 Standout Articles from Australia’s Top Thinkers. He was previously the scientific director of the Global Happiness Organization.
