Jim Devine writes: >> He [Scitovsky] argues that we can't simply look at what people choose in order to >> discover what's best for them. That makes sense to me.
here's a summary of Scitovsky's theory, adding bullet points and explanations: "I have proposed four different explanations to reconcile the secular rise in our material standard of living [as measured by real GDP per capita, in the U.S. and other rich countries] with the peculiar behavior of the self-rated happiness surveys [which show happiness staying flat, not rising]. * ... the satisfaction of status [i.e., the way in which having higher status hurts someone else's happiness so that the average stays the same], * ... the satisfaction of work [which was not improving], * ... the enjoyment of novelty [which Scitovsky sees as not happening enough], * ... addiction, with all it implies [which means that we don't get happiness from the products we're addicted to; rather, we avoid the pain of losing them]." (p. 139) David B. Shemano wrote:
What is the alternative? By definition, would not any alternative be elitist?
one factor that most recognize is education. In these neoliberal days, it's common to see education as simply producing assets for the students, which create economic returns for them. But it also changes can their tastes: for example, a liberal arts education can (if done well) help students decide what kinds of education are _really_ assets, allowing them to attain life-time happiness and health. (Of course, our advertising industry does a lot of education of another sort, encouraging people to be druggies, etc.) Another issue is that (as Kenneth Arrow points out) markets do not express social values well, encouraging people to express only their narrow individual wants. So economic democracy is needed. (This contrasts with the standard neoliberal paternalism, in which only those wants that are expressed through markets are given any weight.) I haven't read far enough into Scitovsky's book to know what his preferred solution is. -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
