Chapter 4
In last week’s class we discussed Ahmed’s chapter 4 in The Promise of Happiness.
Laura started the class off by presenting to us the idea of utilitarian happiness. I’ve been thinking further about Laura’s question and the issue with quantifying happiness and I think that the issue with this may be that as a nation and individually this corrupts your character as you no longer see people as ends but as a means to an end, the end now being your own happiness. When people see that about you or your nation, I theorize that this would have adverse effects, and their happiness and yours would both be lowered so in the end (they can’t trust you, that has adverse effects on you) there would be less all around happiness than if you were thinking of happiness as costs and benefits.
We then discussed the question, “What are the implications of thinking of happiness as a balance of costs and benefits to one’s nation?”. The idea of this was similar to the idea of an empire that is attempting to gain as much as possible in order to gain happiness for itself and its citizens, or an individual who does good only to expect good in return. In response to this, Katherine proposed that a government is really unable to promote happiness and spends most of its time putting out fires and trying to prevent people from being unhappy.
The conversation then turned to how utilitarianism on a national scale is problematic as this mindset can easily lead to the thinking that colonization is justified, because in the long run the groups being colonized will be better off.
Stephen then added that this sends a message to the oppressed that you should be happy because the government is doing something to improve your life (creates a power imbalance). In this way, the government uses happiness as a tool into forcing people to comply. This causes individuals to feel confusion as they are told repeatedly how happy they are supposed to feel in this great new environment, even as they are feeling racism against them, and realizing that this new place isn’t as great as its supposed to be. I then brought up the example about my mom experiencing racism and feeling as if we could not react to it, because we were lucky to be here and our pain would be offensive to others and perceived as ungrateful.
This reminds me a lot of Ahmed’s conception of snaps and bonds and how Bonds can be things you are asked to preserve, even as they are systems that oppress you and how bonds are often conditional, so a snap can be what happens when you are unwilling to meet the conditions for being with others.
For people entering a new culture, the people already within that culture likely idealize it and normalize the issues with it this becomes a policing force telling you it’s threatening to be unhappy. But we have to learn to let the complications be okay, and that maybe other’s happiness doesn’t always look like your conception of happiness, so we as a society shouldn’t attempt to press them into our mold of happiness even if we truly believe it is for their good.
Shared by: LH