Danes, the current polls suggest, are no longer so melancholy. Moreover, attitudes toward happiness don’t just vary they change. The point is that cultural variations on happiness are considerable, contributing to the findings of international happiness polls that dot the contemporary public opinion landscape. Some Latin American cultures tend in the other direction. Most East Asian cultures also have lower happiness expectations than Americans are accustomed to. The point here is not to disparage Russians.
I’ve spent time since with Russian friends, discussing cultural rules on showing happiness, agreeing that differences remain. The Massacre at Chios, 2001, oil on canvas, 300 x 220 cmĪ modern Russian adage holds that “a person who smiles a lot is either a fool or an American.” It’s true that when McDonald’s arrived in Russia, in 1990, one of its first tasks was to train clerks to seem cheerful. That may lead to choices that aren’t for the best and, paradoxically, make a lot of people more miserable. Emotional states short of bliss become sources of anxiety and are even diagnosed as pathologies. When the goal becomes happiness, the idea arises that unhappiness is to be avoided in ourselves, our families, and our workplaces. It’s also important to recognize that any societal choice has both good and bad consequences. Culture reflects choices, and new choices can change it. It’s important to trace this steady encroachment of the happiness imperative because it reminds us that today’s values are not givens in the human condition. Since then the pursuit of happiness has gained momentum and spread to every aspect of behavior, from religion and politics to work and parenting.
It was only in the 18th century that the values of the Enlightenment ushered in the notion that happiness was the attainment of a worthy life. Today the Western world is caught up in a culture of happiness, but it wasn’t always so.
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