NORTHERN PLANNER

‘ "Economics is not a gay science", wrote Thomas Carlyle in 1849, meaning that it’s concerned with dreary statistics and the measurement of demand and supply. But maybe not any more.

The world economy has grown at a rate of 3.2% since 2000. Capitalism is doing well. Or is it? They’re beginning to mix psychology with economics and they’re finding that affluent countries are not getting any happier as they get richer. No one would be foolish enough to discount the need for world equality, or a solution to global worming, but economists are beginning to view their discipline as ‘how to make more people happy’. Not so ‘gay’ after all.

One problem they’re looking at is the way we turn luxury into necessity. We take things for granted that other generations could only dream of – but as soon as we reach a better standard of living we become numbed to it’s pleasures. In the 1930’s they thought that richer societies would free people up to enjoy more leisure -but instead we’re working harder to enjoy the things we think will make us happy, only to find we end up taking them for granted. So we work our socks off to get even richer, which forces the rest to keep up as well.

So if relentless consumerism is destroying the planet and it doesn’t make us happy anyway, what could fill the gap? Are humans simply hardwired to never be satisfied with what they have? One fellow thinks not, he thinks it’s about experiences – but not the current trend for quality time with loved ones. Just like physical things, we’ll never beleive we have enough. Rather, maybe we can make sure what we actayully DO fulfills this restless drive, instead of being an end to having more stuff.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi handed out pagers to thousands of people and asked them to log their mood when prompted. Of course, most were happiest pottering in the garden or eating, but a lucky few loved losing themselves in their work. This happy state he calls ‘flow’ – the kind of work that stretches you, gives you clear goals and sense of control. Amazingly, if these things lack, we try and ‘sculpt’ our jobs to compensate -hairdressers serve as emotional confidants to clients and call centre staff cannot resist helping people on the other end of the phone.

In Republic, Plato put forward the idea that the only just society is one where everyone does what they’re best at. Maybe this stuff shows how right he was – as long as it’s work we can lose ourselves in.