Happiness of Cultures

[Alina Israeli]

>Genevra Gerhart wrote:
>
>> The latest (November) issue of Scientific American has a very brief
>> article and graph on p 32 entitled "Calculus of Happiness."
>> This article is very interesting, but the article at the web site is
>> absolutely fascinating: http://wvs.isr.umich.edu/papers/genes.html
>> Subjective opinions on one's own happiness are compared across
>> cultures and across time (however briefly).
>> Russia is a real shocker. Only Belarus and Ukraine are more unhappy.
>
>I see nothing shocking in this at all.

Quite predictable in fact. I suggest you look at Martin Seligman's "Learned
Optimism" book. It's enough to read the preface, in particular the dog
experiment. Seligman convincingly shows that powerlessness breeds
pessimism. I am sure that powerlessness is not conducive to happiness. I am
pretty sure that if anyone did comparative powerlessness studies, the
results would correlate with comparative happiness, with economic
development as a corrective element. (NB. In Belorus or Ukraine as well as
Moldova, at least these days, people have even less chances to change their
life than in Russia. Some of Moldovan prostitutes in the South of France
tell horror stories of life and starvation back home.)

AI

_____________
Alina Israeli
LFS, American University
4400 Mass. Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20016

phone:  (202) 885-2387
fax:    (202) 885-1076

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