Warning: Academic Content!

I recently came across this article in the New Left Review: The Political Economy of Unhappiness, by William Davies. So, yes, it is quite academic and intellectual and the writing style isn't exactly light-leisure-reading. That said, it is a relatively easy read and makes some really interesting points. Bare with me. You'll like this, I promise (maybe).

In a very basic summary, the premise for this article is that physical and mental health (or "wellbeing" as Davies says) are economic resources. Why? Well, for starters the annual cost of health related absence from work in the UK is £100 billion. That's a lot of money and a HUGE concern to employers, economists, and policy-makers. If you're sick you can't go to work, and this gives your health an economic value.

Davies discusses a recent shift in the way we understand health and recovery. Whereas the traditional prescription for most illnesses is to rest and let your body recover, research is now showing that going back to work may actually help recovery.

"...Even where work is primarily physical, medical and economic orthodoxy had underestimated the importance of psychological factors in determining health and productivity. Being at work has the psychological effect of making people believe themselves to be well, which in turn has a positive effect on their physical wellbeing."

Essentially, we are likely to recover from illness faster and better at work: Work = Happiness = Health.

Now here is where it gets interesting. As labour has become more immaterial (we're not putting machines together in factories, we're now putting ideas together in conference rooms), illness has become more immaterial too. We don't suffer from fever and runny noses as much as we suffer from depression and anxiety. Look at this graph; it shows the increasing number of sick days taken on account of mental ailments. 40% of all sick leave in 2007!

Ok, back to the economics! So more and more people are missing work because they are depressed and this is costing employers and costing the government. So now it is a lot easier to get psychological treatment through the NHS in the form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (apparently CBT tends to be controversial among psychologists but I lack the knowledge to comment on that). Simply put, the government is investing in your mental wellbeing so that you can go to work! In line with this, CBT has also become an important part of programmes for the unemployed.

You've probably noticed a little contradiction here. Work is meant to make us happy and healthy. So why are we increasingly skipping out on work because of unhappiness? Well, this may come as a shock to you, but work isn't the only thing that makes us happy. I know - mind boggling, right? Oh... you're not surprised? Ok then.

Studies repeatedly show that access to public goods makes people happy. Davies gives examples of this research technique that asks people to give a monetary value to social or public goods. For example, how much extra income would you need to maintain your current level of happiness if you, say, couldn't attend concerts? This particular public good happens to be valued at nine grand/year. Personally, I think this kind of methodology is pure genius! It is simply an extension of school-boy bets: "I'll give you £2 to eat a handful of dirt." "No way! I wont do it for less than £5!" Thus, the happiness value of not eating dirt is the equivalent of £5. It is so simple and so effective.

I may think it is great, but the results worry liberal economists. This kind of research ultimately shows that the private income needed to compensate for public goods is very, very high. This means that £1 spent on public goods generates much more happiness than £1 spent privately. The evidence shows that public spending makes us all happy and, therefore, makes us all more able to go to work, be productive, and boost the economy. Neo-classical economists (i.e. those currently making policy) don't like this because they like to argue that public spending is bad. But the evidence is there and they can't ignore it. But as Davies so rightly points out, they don't exactly shout about it:

The political ramifications of such a technique have to be carefully concealed by the neo-classical economists currently seeking to introduce it to policy-making. But, arguably, a spectre is haunting liberal economics.

You may find the whole idea of trying to value happiness/unhappiness a bit absurd. And I'd say that is a valid opinion to hold. But read this article and you'll see how Davies grapples with the ontology of happiness and unhappiness and looks at the historical relationship between capitalist markets and mental wellbeing. Then you'll begin to see why some people find it so very important to put a price on happiness.

OR, you could just go the Peanuts-route and simply accept that happiness is a warm blanket.

Happiness is a Warm Blanket :)

Homelessness

My latest hiatus was a bit longer than expected I'm afraid. My life is in transit and it has been pretty difficult to find the time to sit and write something a little bit interesting.

So to London I've come to be a grown-up. I've been finding myself a job and a flat and a general pattern of life that doesn't give me a panic attack each day. So far success has been found on two of the three. Finding somewhere to live has been more difficult than I thought. See I've done the whole house-hunting thing before in Florida and now I'm doing it here in the UK. Now, I've noticed some quirky differences between here and there; some basic anthropological observations, if you will. (You probably shouldn't)

Randy Glasbergen

First, there's the adverts. UK has gumtree and US has craigslist. They are essentially the same thing with slightly different formats. I prefer craigslist only because it is simpler and I get easily distracted by fancy colours and shapes. Give me white squares please. But format is not what I'm getting at! It is content! The content of the ads is so hilariously different. In the US the emphasis is on the property: exact location, square footage, when it was built, who maintains it, full specs on kitchens/bathrooms/windows/walls/ceilings. Ok, maybe that many people don't talk about their ceilings, but you get the point.

In the UK it seems adverts are mostly unconcerned with the property itself. You get a general area (Clapham), a general size (spacious), a general feeling (bright), and that's about it. For all you know, a bright, spacious place in Clapham could be a picnic blanket on the commons. The priority is on the people. You can find out a hell of a lot about potential flatmates from an advert on gumtree; how old they are, where they were born, what they do for a living, what they do on weekends, their favourite beer, their favourite food, preference for pets, cleanliness habits, and often much much more! I may be wrong, but if you asked an American advertising a flat for their date of birth and nationality you would probably get reported for identity theft.

Then, once you get past the adverts there is the matter of viewings. In the US you are urged to look at all the physical attributes that were spelled out in the ad. "Observe the excessive square footage of this room", "Take a look at this shiny silver fridge", "Notice the perfectly smooth dry wall." Yeah, I've always dreamed of a really good dry wall. Then the questions: "What is your credit score?", "What is your income?", "How soon can you bring the deposit?" The flat goes to the first person to arrive with cash in hand. Money money money.

In the UK, or at least in London, it goes something more like this: "Don't worry about that hole in the floor, the landlord is getting around to fixing it", "No, that isn't mould. I don't know what it is but it is NOT mould!" Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. Then the questions: What do you do? Where are you from? Do you eat? Do you drink? Do you cook? Favourite band? Favourite film? The flat goes to whomever is deemed the "coolest" potential housemate. Must! enhance! social life!

Conclusion: both ways suck. Really, I do prefer the Brit-way but it is so much pressure. I've got to prove that I can be your friend? I'm not very good at making friends. This may or may not have something to do with the negativity and the sarcasm. How am I meant to convince you in 20 mins that I'm going to be more fun to live with than the next guy? It's hard!

Things I find on the internet

So Wednesday's post got moved to Thursday. First, because I was lazy yesterday and didn't feel like blogging. Second, because there will be no Friday post as I shall be in the air somewhere over the Atlantic. So I thought I'd give you Thursday to hold over until next week.

Same Wednesday drill though: things I've been looking at online. Think you should look at them too.

1.) Are jobs obsolete?
I like this article. Mostly because I don't have a job and it makes me feel less depressed about that. Not sure I really buy into the idea of information and creativity becoming new market goods. We're all too accustomed to getting that stuff for free now. Still, it's a bit different. Something to think about. What do you think?

2.) Sciences Still Young
My entire academic career has been devoted to the social sciences. Many of you are in the same boat too. And we continue to hear (from policy makers) that social sciences aren't useful to society and government funding will be cut in all those departments. We, those of us who do social science, know that this argument is total bollocks. This article is a really interesting rebuttal to this kind of argument. We're just on the brink of cool discoveries in a lot of social fields. Methodology is expanding and getting better. What if all interest and funding for natural sciences had been stifled just as Einstein was about to give us E=mc²?

The Mute Girl of Portici

3.) The opera Belgium can't see
This one is about a play that has been a symbol of Belgian unity since there was such an idea as Belgian unity. I'm not really sure why to be honest. It doesn't make much sense to me. Anyway, there is a big production of this play coming along soon. But they can't show it in Belgium because unity is too controversial right now. I find the irony of this situation really quite funny. But more than funny, it is a really interesting illustration of how politics influences all spheres of society. I study politics. These things entertain me.

4.) Back to the Start
Ever a sucker for good advertising, Chipotle won me over with this one. Well, kind of. I don't live in a country where I can get Chipotle so I can't give them business. But I sure would after this advert. Can I get an AMEN for sustainable farming?

Piggies found here

5.) CUBE
Ah... the mystery of design. This is a lengthy intellectual interpretation of an incredibly simple object. If the first article is right, and ideas are the new currency, then this guy ought to be a zillionaire! He got all that from a box? I mock, but really I am very impressed (and a bit jealous). You'll have to read subtitles if you don't speak German.



Happy Reading!