The Happiness Industry

How the Government and Big Business Sold us Well-Being

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Pub Date 12 May 2015 | Archive Date 12 May 2015

Description

“Deeply researched and pithily argued.” —New York Magazine

“A brilliant, and sometimes eerie, dissection” of ‘the science of happiness’ and the modern-day commercialization of our most private emotions (Vice)

Why are we so obsessed with measuring happiness?
 
In winter 2014, a Tibetan monk lectured the world leaders gathered at Davos on the importance of Happiness. The recent DSM-5, the manual of all diagnosable mental illnesses, for the first time included shyness and grief as treatable diseases. Happiness has become the biggest idea of our age, a new religion dedicated to well-being.
 
Here, political economist William Davies shows how this philosophy, first pronounced by Jeremy Bentham in the 1780s, has dominated the political debates that have delivered neoliberalism. From a history of business strategies of how to get the best out of employees, to the increased level of surveillance measuring every aspect of our lives; from why experts prefer to measure the chemical in the brain than ask you how you are feeling, to why Freakonomics tells us less about the way people behave than expected, The Happiness Industry is an essential guide to the marketization of modern life. Davies shows that the science of happiness is less a science than an extension of hyper-capitalism.
“Deeply researched and pithily argued.” —New York Magazine

“A brilliant, and sometimes eerie, dissection” of ‘the science of happiness’ and the modern-day commercialization of our most private...

Advance Praise

Praise for The Limits of Neoliberalism:

“Brilliant … explains how the rhetoric of competition has invaded almost every domain of our existence.” —Evgeny Morozov, author of To Save Everything, Click Here

“A fascinating book.” —Philip Mirowski, author of Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste

Praise for The Limits of Neoliberalism:

“Brilliant … explains how the rhetoric of competition has invaded almost every domain of our existence.” —Evgeny Morozov, author of To Save Everything, Click...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781781688458
PRICE $26.95 (USD)

Average rating from 27 members


Featured Reviews

The title and cover image may mislead some readers who are looking for yet another anti-psychiatry/medication screed, but this is a fantastic exploration that handles the intersection of some difficult concepts very well. It's ideal for displays, reading lists, or series on psychology, economics, business, neuroscience, and more. Very versatile for use beyond the shelves. We'll be getting it for sure.

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