Happiness

[TheNotoriousPOG]

My question is basically this: as a revolutionary, do you currently feel content and fulfilled in your life, and do you think that for you personally having a fulfilling life is possible under capitalism?

The reason I ask that is because even though I am a revolutionary socialist, I am pretty content and happy with my life and if I continue on the path I'm on I will remain happy. I am a working class person and exploited for my labor, but I am also training for a rewarding career that I enjoy and have loving family and friends. The interesting thing I recently realized is that I personally would be worse off if a revolution were to take place. My family and friends would probably be split, I would have to quit my job, and the general turmoil would be pretty devastating on my personal life. I would most likely be able to lead a happier life under capitalism than if there were a revolution, yet I would support the revolution because the emancipation of the working class would be much better for humanity.

[Dialectical Wizard]

My question is basically this: as a revolutionary, do you currently feel content and fulfilled in your life, and do you think that for you personally having a fulfilling life is possible under capitalism?

The reason I ask that is because even though I am a revolutionary socialist, I am pretty content and happy with my life and if I continue on the path I'm on I will remain happy. I am a working class person and exploited for my labor, but I am also training for a rewarding career that I enjoy and have loving family and friends. The interesting thing I recently realized is that I personally would be worse off if a revolution were to take place. My family and friends would probably be split, I would have to quit my job, and the general turmoil would be pretty devastating on my personal life. I would most likely be able to lead a happier life under capitalism than if there were a revolution, yet I would support the revolution because the emancipation of the working class would be much better for humanity.


I myself am quite unhappy at the moment due unemployment, although I do think it is possible that some people are perfectly happy under capitalism. But I’m sure there would be less depressions under socialism. As far as a revolution goes, it is a risk one has to take if one wants to be free. In a revolution one can risk losing his or her life while struggling for emancipation.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I wouldn't classify myself as "depressed", necessarily, but I am very unhappy & unsatisfied. I do think it's possible to be happy under capitalism, because being "happy" is, after all, a subjective mental state, but as for myself, no, I am not happy.

[consuming negativity]

Are you referring to happiness as in "can I be content with my life?" or happiness as in "can I ever feel joy"? I don't think either are impossible, although I think the first one is significantly more challenging.

[helot]

I think a problem is that what's included in the term 'happiness' are various different concepts, with some contradicting others. I don't think it's useful. It can include anything from hedonistic pleasure-seeking, a virtuous life and even to something akin to luck.


btw OP, 'pog' is a racist term against Romanis where i'm from. I'm assuming it's not where you are but i thought you might want to be aware of it.

[Petrol Bomb]

I feel happiness here and there, when I am engaged in particular activities, feeling momentary fulfillment. However, examining my life on the whole, I do not feel happiness nor fulfillment, and I don't see myself becoming happy nor fulfilled in the future. But I do believe that one can feel fulfilled and happy overall under the rule of capital.

[Tenka]

No. I would probably be miserable in Socialism, too, but at least I could get free healthcare and food (not to say that's what it's about, but that is what makes it popular, and results in endless confusions with Social Democracy and lame reforms), and move to another country without all the bureaucratic red tape standing in the way enforcing the fantasy of borders.

In short, I am miserable whether I exist in Capitalism or not, but see less and less hope of bettering my mental state if things remain the same.

[Sabot Cat]

I'm not incapable of feeling happiness because of capitalism; not everyone is so lucky though, and I don't really want to abolish capitalism just to be happier.

[AnaRchic]

I've very happy with my life. I work a lot and I struggle financially but I've got great friends, an awesome girlfriend, family, and I have a positive outlook on life. I have a whole lot of fun honestly.

Happiness is possible under capitalism, but it can be risky. Conformity to the laws and norms of this society will not result in a joyous life, at least not in my opinion. If you're willing to take a little risk and live on your own terms, even within the belly of the beast, and if you can be smart about it, then you can certainly enjoy a rather free and happy life.

I don't believe in self-sacrifice, and I have no problem admitting selfishness. I'm an Anarchist first and foremost because I reject the idea that I am obliged in some way to obey the coercive institutions that dominate us. My revolutionary perspective is simply a natural consequence of my personal rejection of authority and oppression.

Revolution would not run counter to my interests, it would create the conditions for real, true freedom, freedom from police and law and wage slavery and money. I would partake in a revolution joyously, as an act of self-assertion against my enemies.

[TheSocialistMetalhead]

I'm not a socialist because I'm unhappy under capitalism. I'm a socialist because i want everyone to have the same opportunities as me and be able to live without the stress that the uncertainty about one's financial state causes and give everyone enough of what they need. We know the resources are available, now we only need the will.

Does having your material needs fulfilled, mean you're happy? Of course not, but just look at the statistics. People who lose their job, get depressed. For a lot of people, not having to worry about making ends meet would go a long way.

[tallguy]

Happiness in a capitalist society is possible, but difficult. That is to say, it may be achieved despite capitalism, not because of it. The reason is because of manufactured wants in the search for profit. The way to manufacture a want is by making your potential customers feel that they are somehow deficient compared to their peers. This is playing on our deepest social instincts in the most cynical way possible. It's evil, basically.

There is a quote from a speech made by someone that goes something along the lines of "never read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly".

That pretty much sums up capitalism.

[Sea]

Capital creates its own standards of happiness. You are essentially asking: Is one specific part of the superstructure possible within the framework of the base?

You are asking if a subset can exist within its superset! Of course it can! Bah, I really wish people would leave their silly vulgar subjective definitions of "happiness" on their side of the internet instead of spreading it over here...
btw OP, 'pog' is a racist term against Romanis where i'm from. I'm assuming it's not where you are but i thought you might want to be aware of it.Where I'm from, POG (http://s3-media2.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/dstQeYi56YIpKCp44QE24g/l.jpg) is a sickeningly sweet high-fructose concoction of passionfruit, orange and guava that comes in a carton. If that's racist, you might as well call me David Sea Duke because there's no fucking way I'm giving up that delicious stuff.

[Comrade #138672]

Sure, some people can be "happy" under capitalism, but overall capitalism is pretty depressing.

[Red Economist]

"Yes", for me personally, periodically being happy in a capitalist system is possible, but it's a struggle.

In the long-run I really don't have many safeguards against 'the system' (or rather the people embodying it) making me unhappy. And the long terms prospects of capitalist development (especially climate change) really depress me.

[blake 3:17]

Why is this in Philosophy?

[RedAnarchist]

Meh, my life could be better. I'm certainly not happy with it, but as a white male living in the West, passing for a cis and straight person (even though I'm not sure on the cis and I'm bi), I certainly have it easy even if I don't find life to be a bowl of cherries.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

I don't think it's such a simple question to answer. There are various levels of happiness. Happiness can be an individual, inward-looking state. Happiness can be on a society level, i.e. the maximum happiness of the greatest number of people. Happiness can be altruistic, i.e. I am happy only when I see society organised in a certain way, or certain ills eliminated from society.

Individual happiness depends largely on one's mental state, and of course it can be affected by external factors (social freedoms, economic position, cultural pressures etc.) so to a greater or lesser extent, even our inner happiness is bound by the social/economic/cultural conditions of the society we live in. However, this inner happiness is also a function of our own mental state, certain elements (such as our personal values and general outlook) are probably exogenous to the society we live in.

So yeah, you can be more or less happy. I am a worker, i'm probably never going to be particularly well off, but i'm in a profession that I love, and is slightly more immune to capitalist pressures (in some ways) than, for example, being a worker in private industry. As for my own inner happiness, i'd say it's about neutral. Not depressed but certainly things could be better.

[RyeN]

Its like I'm a wave a bliss riding on an ocean of love. Our own personal Happiness is one of the few things that we can actually have control over, yet so many of us have fallen into the trap of letting outside events dictate our emotions, and don't take the time to choose. It takes a little practice, but when we start feeling our emotions we have more control over the actions we take in response to perceived events. A huge part of how exploitation continues to flourish in the face of such over ruling evidence of failure is the people who have a vested intrest in business as usual have always had access to knowledge. Knowing what makes a good slave is a slave who doesn't even know he is in bondage. Its a program that they start before we are even born. Our parents have been domesticated to fit into the system of competition for external rewards, and they in turn have sent us to the same schools to be domesticated. They train us to seek pleasant experience and ignore or push away unpleasant sense desires. Grasping at pleasant things and ignoring unpleasant along with lack of critical spiritual guidance and domestication for competition have breed a slave class that is aware of only a tiny fraction of whats actually going on in the moment. All we have is right now, but people put so much thought into whats next, or what they could have done differently that they don't enjoy the right now. This breeds a slave class that is mostly unconscious of whats going on in the moment, so people react based on habit. Using the cause and effect relationship inheirent in this world, and the knowledge that most people react unconsciously from habit, the boss can use behavior modeling to predict how most people will act in perceived events, or when presented with various stimuli.

The good news is that they betray their knowledge every day for more profits, and the system is really falling apart. Karma is created whenever we create action in physical reality. Their intentions are profits based in greed to make them feel powerful, because they are some of the most frightened people on the planet. So when the create products or actions in physical reality with negative intentions based in fear (greed, anger, jealousy, competition....) the karmic debt is collected. They create inefficiently, there is tons of waste and pollution, and all the negative energy that spirals out in a butterfly effect. In my experience looking at the universe I can see so many repeating patterns as you go from a macro view to a micro view. All the negative consequences that effect our planet have effect on us as well. The same minerals that make up our earth is in our bones, the same water that rains down on us and covers 70% ish of our planet makes up 70% ish of our bodies. The center of our planet is an electromagnet, and our bodies produce electromagnetic energy fields that vibrate at different frequencies based on our emotions. So when we create with negative energy it effects our planet, which we are a part of, and it effects us. Things like cancer, they say pretty much everything causes cancer, but I think it can be narrowed down to the cause and effect relationship that we have with our planet, and the energy we use to create with negative fear based energy.

I choose to be happy :) cancer free, and vibrate my energy at the highest frequencies possible. I choose to create out of love and enjoy the experience for what it is, not grasping to desirable events and ignoring undesirable ones.

[Naroc]

I think i'm quite happy at the moment. But it has not that much to do with the circumstances of my life, i think the main reason is that i always try to keep myself motivated. I suffered from a ..hm.. "smaller" depression some years ago, until that point as i said to myself "FUCK IT/THEM ALL, just get your shit done!". I know this sounds a little like all of that standard motivational crap like "believe in yourself!" blaa blaa. But i experienced that things changed in a positive way after i started thinking like that. I was (at least subjectively) more successful. That's why i try to keep myself in a good mood, don't think too much about failures and appreciate the positive things in life.

As stupid as it sounds, it works for me.

About the revolutionary part: In my opinion, optimism and a positive attitude about the things we do/want to do is inevitable. Sure, sometimes everything seems like it's totally fucked up and bad. But if there's no confidence in ourselves and our believes, how could we expect things to change? And therefore: YES, happiness in a capitalist system is absolutely possible. It just depends on how you think about the world around you.

[Loony Le Fist]

I don't think I'll ever be completely happy until the system we have is replaced with one that values people over profits. That doesn't mean I can't find happiness in other things, but this is something important to me. I don't want to help bring children into this world without having some assurance that they won't have it worse than me.

[Comrade Jacob]

I'm sure you can be happy in capitalism but until the class-conflict disappears it will never be (*near)universal.

*I say near because there will always be people who have a biological condition.

I personally am not happy...at all, in fact I have psychosis because of my depression which I blame on living in capitalism.

[neola]

The context of happiness for me means being content or satisfied. I'm satisfied in my life. I may not have all things as other but I have enough things. Enough to live life here on earth.

[CommissarNgugu]

My idea of happiness is often run over by giant capitalistic tanks

[CommissarNgugu]

I personally am not happy...at all, in fact I have psychosis because of my depression which I blame on living in capitalism.

Welcome to my world (At least when I lived in the so-called "American Suburbs" of Dallas for 5 years) in a point where depression and all that were my only "friends".