Are conservatives happier than liberals?

[Yoder777]

Please keep in mind, I am not advocating any particular party. I am talking about their overall outlook toward American society and how it affects their attitudes about their life in this country.

 

[MachZer0]

And a lot of conservatives are livid when liberals voice dissenting opinions.

some maybe, but it's near universal with the left side of the aisle

 

[Saleena]

some maybe, but it's near universal with the left side of the aisle

Not all tea party members are insane
Not all conservatives are hate mongers
Not all liberals are bleeding hearts.

When a person adopts a political belief structure it doesn't mean they instantly become the stereotype.

I only say this because it seems the entirety of your staggering 47k posts are about all the same. LIBRULS DIS OBORMA DAT. Sweetie, cmon now. Cmon.

 

[Savior2006]

some maybe, but it's near universal with the left side of the aisle

Perhaps in the "universe" you've made up.

 

[Savior2006]

conservatives look at the same income inequality and see it as the result of merit, such as some people being more intelligent, working harder, etc. than others.

Unless of course said person is a minority like Obama. Then every accomplishment they've ever made or every reward or award they've ever been given is due to affirmative action.

But yeah, you totally are not advocating for conservatives.

I find it weird, honestly, because it seems like you change your affiliation on a weekly basis.

 

[AceHero]

From the article:


"The right to pursue happiness is the essential right that government exists to protect. Liberals, taking their bearings, whether they know it or not, from President Franklin Roosevelt's 1936 State of the Union address, think the attainment of happiness itself, understood in terms of security and material well-being, is an entitlement that government has created and can deliver."

And it always comes down to the same idiotic song and dance. Liberals love government so damn much. Honestly, I've seen mostly the exact opposite. Conservatives have no problem with government when it wages war. Conservatives have no problem with government when it tells a woman what she can do with her one body. Conservatives have no problem with government when it's telling a person what drug they can put in their own body. Conservatives have no problem with government when it tells a gay person he can't get married or adopt kids. Conservatives have no problem with government when it promotes their religion. Shoot, if I had a dime for any member of the Christian Right who says "we need to put (my) God back in schools" I'd own a fleet of aircraft carriers.

Conservatives have no problem with government period.

Liberals believe in effective government. That might mean more or less, depending on the subject.

<edit>

 

[AirPo]

When you don't have to think much you are usually happier.
*standard ignorance is bliss response*

Ditto heads come to mind.

 

[Yoder777]

Unless of course said person is a minority like Obama. Then every accomplishment they've ever made or every reward or award they've ever been given is due to affirmative action.

But yeah, you totally are not advocating for conservatives.

I find it weird, honestly, because it seems like you change your affiliation on a weekly basis.

I am politically independent and a thankful American. I distrust both parties, which is why I generally support third party candidates, at least for president. I think that Obama and the Republicans in Congress are equally responsible for mismanaging our country.

 

[Yoder777]

should it be considered a good thing that, regardless of income level, conservatives are happier to live in this country than liberals? why shouldn't people be happy to live in this country? why should someone only see the perceived injustices of our society, instead of seeing the great blessings that even the bottom 5% of americans take for granted?

it wasn't until the new left of the 1960s that it became fashionable to simply trash your country instead of, out of love for it, proposing an alternative plan for its future. i personally don't like david horowitz, but i understand coming from the mouth of someone who experienced it that the american left is at root a destructive force. they would rather tear down american society and rebuild it in their image than look at the immense good in our country compared to how most people in the world have to live.

in some ways, i am talking in generalities, but that's the nature of statistics. i don't think it makes a person superior for being conservative, but i do find it a superior value to be grateful for one's country, and it just so happens that more conservatives, regardless of income level, are happier to live in this country than liberals.

 

[Marius27]

I feel like this has a lot to do with locations, aspirations, etc. Most of the Conservative demographic is in your poorer, more rural parts of States with a more laid back lifestyle and not much competition. They also cling to religion to keep them happy more.

Liberals dominate the big cities and the heavily populated areas full of congestion, ultra competition, wealth, etc. The pressures to succeed and have a decent quality of life in liberal areas are much greater. And I think those pressures can make people more stressed and unhappy. You could also argue, liberals statistically have higher intelligence and higher intelligence equates to more depression/unhappiness (Geniuses are something like 3 times more likely to suffer from depression than those with average IQ).

 

[Illuminaughty]

Congratulations to conservatives who are happy. I can't say the results of this study imply much of anything regarding conservative governance being superior (or inferior) to liberal governance though. Even if this is an accurate study the reasons for this being the case could be varied and are not necessarily the result of the speculative reasons being offered in this thread.

 

[Merrily]

Some conservatives are happier than some liberals.
Here in England Liberals and Conservatives are pretty much the same thing politically hence I'm meaning mindset rather than political affiliation.
Not sure that intellect is a benchmark for depression either.
It's not a given that the more intelligent someone is then the sadder or more stressed they are.
Possibly there's little difference across the classes but that the intelligent sorts are better at articulating their sadnesses so we get to hear more from them than the sad- silent poor folks.

 

[Illuminaughty]

I mean, a liberal could just as easily offer speculations that make conservatives look bad too. They could say that turning a blind eye to injustive, blaiming the victim and justifying the wrongs (they deserve it anyway), etc.., helps prevent the type of pain that come from empathy and compassion. When you don't seek to remedy injustice and instead ignore it you can hold on to the bliss of ignorance. See no evil, hear evil, speak no evil.

Is that actually the reason for the apparent conservative happiness levels? I have no idea. Just as conservatives here have no real idea if the reasons they have given, the ones that try to paint liberalism in a bad light, are actually the cause of the difference. It's all merely speculation.

 

[Joykins]

I think the conclusion that liberals are sadder than conservatives is a misinterpretation of the Pew data, which actually says that it is political affiliation and not ideology that makes the difference and has over the past couple of decades when the affiliation/ideology line was pretty muddled, but please go on.

 

[keith99]

IIRC right-wing authoritarians--and I don't know that this maps to conservative all the time--tend to score much higher than non-RWAs on measures of fear. I have no idea how this plays out with the happiness thing.

Happiness is a warm gun. They are very happy!

 

[Yoder777]

http://www.psych.nyu.edu/jost/Napier%20&%20Jost%20(2008)%20Why%20are%20conservatives%20happier%20than%20libe.pdf

Studies show that the major reason why conservatives tend to be more happy than liberals, regardless of their income level, is that they are more likely to see the inequality in American society as resulting from differences in merit and achievement rather than the result of fundamental injustices.

Scholars on both the left and right have studied this question extensively, and have reached a consensus that it is conservatives who possess the happiness edge. Many data sets show this. For example, the Pew Research Center in 2006 reported that conservative Republicans were 68 percent more likely than liberal Democrats to say they were &#8220;very happy&#8221; about their lives. This pattern has persisted for decades. The question isn&#8217;t whether this is true, but why.



An explanation for the happiness gap more congenial to liberals is that conservatives are simply inattentive to the misery of others. If they recognized the injustice in the world, they wouldn&#8217;t be so cheerful. In the words of Jaime Napier and John Jost, New York University psychologists, in the journal Psychological Science, &#8220;Liberals may be less happy than conservatives because they are less ideologically prepared to rationalize (or explain away) the degree of inequality in society.&#8221; The academic parlance for this is &#8220;system justification.&#8221;
The data show that conservatives do indeed see the free enterprise system in a sunnier light than liberals do, believing in each American&#8217;s ability to get ahead on the basis of achievement. Liberals are more likely to see people as victims of circumstance and oppression, and doubt whether individuals can climb without governmental help. My own analysis using 2005 survey data from Syracuse University shows that about 90 percent of conservatives agree that &#8220;While people may begin with different opportunities, hard work and perseverance can usually overcome those disadvantages.&#8221; Liberals &#8212; even upper-income liberals &#8212; are a third less likely to say this.
So conservatives are ignorant, and ignorance is bliss, right? Not so fast, according to a study from the University of Florida psychologists Barry Schlenker and John Chambers and the University of Toronto psychologist Bonnie Le in the Journal of Research in Personality. These scholars note that liberals define fairness and an improved society in terms of greater economic equality. Liberals then condemn the happiness of conservatives, because conservatives are relatively untroubled by a problem that, it turns out, their political counterparts defined.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/o...-and-extremists-are-happiest-of-all.html?_r=0

 

[keith99]

Their called trophy wives!

And soon after the proud owner of the trophy will be very unhappy.

 

[Yoder777]

http://www.psych.nyu.edu/jost/Napier%20&%20Jost%20(2008)%20Why%20are%20conservatives%20happier%20than%20libe.pdf

Studies show that the major reason why conservatives tend to be more happy than liberals, regardless of their income level, is that they are more likely to see the inequality in American society as resulting from differences in merit and achievement rather than the result of fundamental injustices.

Scholars on both the left and right have studied this question extensively, and have reached a consensus that it is conservatives who possess the happiness edge. Many data sets show this. For example, the Pew Research Center in 2006 reported that conservative Republicans were 68 percent more likely than liberal Democrats to say they were “very happy” about their lives. This pattern has persisted for decades. The question isn’t whether this is true, but why.

An explanation for the happiness gap more congenial to liberals is that conservatives are simply inattentive to the misery of others. If they recognized the injustice in the world, they wouldn’t be so cheerful. In the words of Jaime Napier and John Jost, New York University psychologists, in the journal Psychological Science, “Liberals may be less happy than conservatives because they are less ideologically prepared to rationalize (or explain away) the degree of inequality in society.” The academic parlance for this is “system justification.”

The data show that conservatives do indeed see the free enterprise system in a sunnier light than liberals do, believing in each American’s ability to get ahead on the basis of achievement. Liberals are more likely to see people as victims of circumstance and oppression, and doubt whether individuals can climb without governmental help. My own analysis using 2005 survey data from Syracuse University shows that about 90 percent of conservatives agree that “While people may begin with different opportunities, hard work and perseverance can usually overcome those disadvantages.” Liberals — even upper-income liberals — are a third less likely to say this.

So conservatives are ignorant, and ignorance is bliss, right? Not so fast, according to a study from the University of Florida psychologists Barry Schlenker and John Chambers and the University of Toronto psychologist Bonnie Le in the Journal of Research in Personality. These scholars note that liberals define fairness and an improved society in terms of greater economic equality. Liberals then condemn the happiness of conservatives, because conservatives are relatively untroubled by a problem that, it turns out, their political counterparts defined.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/o...-and-extremists-are-happiest-of-all.html?_r=0

 

[keith99]

Can I suggest one thing that seems more prevalent in the plain old conservative that might lead to a statistically significant increase in happiness.

Valuing family and friends over causes. And when you value family and friends it turns out that you have a better situation when it comes to the same.

And that does lead happiness.

I am NOT saying that liberals do not value family and friends, and most surely am not saying that there are not liberals that value the same above all else as there are liberals here that I strongly suspect do. I'm just saying conservatives of the ordinary kind ate somewhat more apt to make that a priority than liberals of the ordinary kind.

I'm also going to put forth another idea, that those who give of their time to their causes are apt to be happier than those who only give out of their wallets, be they liberal or conservative.

 

[Savior2006]

in some ways, i am talking in generalities.

Actually both you and the article do nothing BUT talk in generalities. The whole "liberals don't like America" is another song and dance we've continued to see a lot of in the 21st century, a lie thrown at us for the unpardonable sin of not supporting Bush's unjustified wars.