These 2 related references give a unique understanding of the inherent urge of human beings, and indeed all sentient beings, to be ecstatically happy. Not just because they have a pile of shiny things in the living room and the garage or because they go to MacDonalds
1. www.dabase.net/happytxt.htm
2. www.dabase.net/dualsens.htm

I haven't seen the film, so I might not be in a position to judge. But from the description in the above article it sounds like "The Pursuit of Happyness" is just another apology piece for Friedmanism and the American Dream.

There is no place for justice or society in this movies. It is all about individual choices.

I would argue that real message underlying the epidemic of depression in the West is not that riches don't buy happiness (although that's true), but that liberal market capitalism is robbing us of community life and spirit of mutual obligation that underwrites the pursuit of wealth.

There is a renewed quest for meaning in the West that Hollywood, being Hollywood, has answered in its usual way by draining away the political and economic questions raised by the problem and putting the story into an individual context.

And so does the cycle continue

What a sad piece.

>>The answer to happiness of course lies in teaching ourselves to be optimistic<<

Not sure about that. One of the happiest people I know is an eternal pessimist. The reason he is happy, he tells me, is because he is invariably right.

>>happiness ... requires a sense of control over our lives<<

If you aren't in control of your life, who on earth is? Surely it is the most destructive attitude of all to say "I can't be happy because they won't let me"

>>happiness ... requires ... the opportunity to be together in a society<<

Surely, that is a personal choice too? There are infinite opportunities every day to "be together in a society".

Or are you using "society" in the Margaret Thatcher sense, when she said "there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families."

In which case, maybe you just don't get on with other people.

>>happiness... requires... more time out to enjoy our increasingly limited leisure.<<

But the Economist article you quote says the exact opposite. My grandmother could genuinely say that she had absolutely no leisure, but she was also without TV or the Internet. How much time would you release into leisure time if you stayed away from the idiot box and the PC?

>>Those controlling the wealth have their hands on the wellbeing lever for the rest of us holding them up there, seemingly ungrateful for what they’ve got.<<

The "wellbeing lever"!! Oh, puhleease! You come across like that little guy in the movie Metropolis, pulling the clock hands to and fro.

He wasn't happy either.

It would seem that those people who dont feel like they control their lives are the truly unhappy ones. Everyone has parameters that they have to operate within, so in a sense no-one has true control over their lives. But you can choose to use this as an excuse and be happy being miserable, or you can just get on with the business of living the best you can. If you are poor, you wont have the luxury of mucking around at uni - if you study hard and get in, you will have to work at least a part-time job, if not work full time and study part time, but it can still be done. You might not be able to afford a mcmansion, but look for a few friends to share a small place with.

People seem to be so focussed on what is wrong with their lives and what they dont have, rather than spending a few moments being grateful for what they do have. Few people have truly nothing, and most have many things worth treasuring, whether they are poor or not.

People usually have more options than they think they have.

People get mentally trapped by big mortgages for example, and yet there are always other options - some not even involving selling the house - eg renting the house and moving somewhere cheaper for a while.

Many people think if they are on a certain salary they MUST have 2 or more cars, a big house, big mortgage, children at private schools, expensive extracurricular activities for the children etc - which all takes a lot of money. So many times I have heard very wealthy people quoted in the media as saying that "things are tight." But really, in the end, they have chosen this expensive life for themselves, and neither they nor their children really need all this stuff.

What really takes the cake is when parents who send their children to expensive private schools are heard saying that "Oh yes the children have to be GRATEFUL to us [parents] because we are spending so much money on their private schooling". 1) the children DID NOT choose this for themselves - they were put down for the private school at birth; and 2) Most children, if asked as teenagers, would you have liked to have gone to public school and not be hassled all your life by your parents to be "grateful" to them, or to go to an expensive private school and be lumbered with this parental expectation of gratefulness, would choose the former. Some of these people need to go and read "The Way of All Flesh", and "The Consolations of Philosophy".

Pericles, I think the reason your pessimist friend is happy is not so much that "he is invariably right", rather that he is rarely disappointed. If you expect nothing good to happen then you are often in for a pleasant surprise.