Abstract
Chapter 7 briefly outlines the development from the birth of happiness to its contemporary manifestations. By introducing the concept of compulsory happiness—the modern imperative to be happy—it provides a point of departure for a critical approach to contemporary manifestations of happiness. As an example of the latter it analyzes modern consumer culture which is depicted as the dominant strategy of happiness in contemporary western societies than needs to be critically reflected.
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Critical debates around contemporary consumer culture and its relation to happiness can also be found in the field of happiness studies and (positive) psychology. In his book The High Price of Materialism Kasser (2002) uses empirical data to show that excesive materialism and consumerism can have negative effects on well-being. Psychology and consumer culture: The struggle for a good life in a materialistic world, book edited by Kasser and Kanner (2012) devoted to the relationship between materialism and well-being from a psychological perspective is also worth mentioning here. In addition to psychology some researchers are also dealing with this topic from the perspective of economics (see for example Helliwell 2003).
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Zevnik, L. (2014). The Evolution of Happiness: Development of Happiness from its Birth to its Contemporary Manifestations. In: Critical Perspectives in Happiness Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04403-3_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04403-3_7
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