The Futile Pursuit of Happiness

I really liked this article. It had a certain "no, duh" quality to it--that is, I know a new car won't really make me happy--but the ultimate message, that happiness is less important than we think, is helpful. And not just happiness--sadness or tragedy too. We accommodate ourselves to whatever our realities are, the author argues, more quickly than we think. And that seemed really helpful, because it makes the future so much less scary. Or so I thought. Not because it says we should give up on happiness, but because it argues that we can be smarter about it.

Of course, modern capitalism is premised on the notion that the new car (shoes, makeup, fill-in-the-blank) won't make you happy--and therefore you'll have to buy another. So if too many of us read this article, will capitalism collapse? (Alas, probably not...)

The Futile Pursuit of Happiness