According to polls — Pew Research Center, the National Science Foundation — and studies such as Arthur Brooks’s Gross National Happiness, conservative Americans are happier than liberal Americans.
Liberals respond this way: “If we’re unhappier, it’s because we are more upset than conservatives over the plight of those less fortunate than ourselves.”
But common sense and data suggest other explanations.
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For one thing, conservatives on the same socioeconomic level as liberals give more charity and volunteer more time than do liberals. And as regards the suffering of non-Americans, for at least half a century conservatives have been far more willing to sacrifice American treasure and American blood (often their own) for other nations’ liberty.
Both of these facts refute the liberals-are-more-concerned-about-others explanation for liberal unhappiness.
So, let’s look at other explanations.
Perhaps we are posing the question backwards when we ask why liberals are less happy than conservatives. The question implies that liberalism causes unhappiness. And while this is true, it may be equally correct to say that unhappy people are more likely to adopt leftist positions.
Take black Americans, for example. It makes perfect sense that a black American who is essentially happy is going to be less attracted to the Left. Anyone who has interacted with black conservatives rarely encounters an angry, unhappy person.
Why?
Because the liberal view on race is that America is a racist society. Therefore, for all intents and purposes, a black American must abandon liberalism in order to be a happy individual. It is very hard, if not impossible, to be a happy person while believing that society is out to hurt you. So, the unhappy black person will gravitate to liberalism and liberalism will in turn make him more unhappy by reinforcing his view that he is a victim.
The unhappy gravitate toward the Left for a second reason. Life is hard for liberals and life is hard for conservatives. But conservatives assume that life will always be hard. Liberals, on the other hand, have utopian dreams. At his brother Robert’s funeral, the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy recalled his brother saying: “Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’”
Utopians will always be less happy than those who know that suffering is inherent to human existence. The utopian compares America to utopia and finds it terribly wanting. The conservative compares America to every other civilization that has ever existed and walks around wondering how he got so lucky as to be born or naturalized an American.
When feelings dictate actions, misery results. Those of us who came of age in the "If it feels good, do it!" era learned that this 60s mantra was a recipe for disaster.
Anyone in a successful marriage can testify that if you demonstrate love and compassion, in spite of mood or feelings, you will begin to feel more love.
Our feelings, properly schooled, can give us great joy; running riot, they will destroy our lives.
This piece is spectacularly unfair and contradicts my direct experience. I live in Portland, OR, one of the more liberal places in the U.S. and have never seen so many intact, stable families and happy people. Liberals tend to be very loyal.
I doubt you would find more liberals taking advantage of government assistance than conservatives. Many conservatives talk a good game but when push comes to shove they are just as likely to take the assistance. I am 40 and, for the record, have never had any sort of government assistance.
I recently debated politics with a gentleman who called for raising the retirement age to 70 and phasing out social security. He is probably right that this will be necessary to raise the retirement age but he it is surely easier to retire at around 65, start collecting social security, and then tell a 40-year old that the retirement age should be 70 and social security phased out. For the record, yes I realize I need to save like mad for retirement, because my generation cannot rely on anything!
This basic contradiction has come up over and over again. When I went to college I did not take any college aid to go to Michigan State (a land grant college). I remember having debates with conservative students who were on student aid and probably did not even realize they were going to a land grant university. I could come up with a lot more examples of this sort of thing.
I mostly associate with liberals and virtually everyone I know works for a private company, owns a small business, or works for a non-profit. They get up in the morning, work like mad, tend to their responsibilities, and have fun when they have some free time.
Someone explain to me how my friends and I are somehow less self-reliant than most conservatives? And if you want to talk about red versus blue states when it comes to values and social stability, be my guest.
I have observed a very interesting paradox with regard to my black friends and co-workers. In their day-to-day conduct, outlook on life, values, and beliefs, they are as conservative as anyone I know (and seemingly quite happy with life). However, when the subject turns to politics, they are staunch defenders and supporters of President Obama and all things Democrat and liberal.
As a corollary, raise more children in larger, intact families. How many large liberal families do you know? I'm not sure it's possible to lead a large family with anything other than conservative principles and I'm not sure it's possible to grow up in a large family without learning self-reliance and competition. Not to mention the long-term demographic advantages...
I would suggest that the virtues that Mr. Prager describes are the fruit of religious belief. According to Gallup and other sources, conservatives are twice as a likely to be churched as liberals. A study by the Barna Group suggested that liberals were half as likely as conservatives to believe in the accuracy of the Bible. It also found that atheists were five times as likely to identify themselves as liberals than as conservatives.
The key point, I think, is what Mr. Prager identified in his previous article: liberals believe that utopia is possible, while the Bible provides tools for successful living in a fallen world. Why do liberals tend to reject the common sense and wisdom of the Bible? After all, liberals, particularly the atheists among them, love to cite studies where they find themselves to be statistically more intelligent than conservatives. Now we can debate the sin of pride or the existence of absolute truth versus subjectivism, but in simple terms it begs the following question: OK Libs, since you're so smart, doesn't it drive you nuts that despite your good intentions and "brilliant" designs, Mother Nature just keeps on thwarting you? Oh...that's why you're so depressed.
Which raises the question about what true intelligence is.
Prager means well and treats others fairly, I'm sure, but in the real world, the don't-complain/quit-whining ethic is seized on by bullies who use the language of compliance and respect for authority to take from others.
"Don't complain" must exist in a culture of strong religious values, social egalitarianism, respect for value-creating work, and good stewardship.
Prager grew up in such a country. Yes, we come out great against other civilizations, but in many ways we're not coming out so great against our past.
Mr. Prager - You are siting a research study from a book that was published April 2008. As I recall I WAS unhappy then because G.W.Bush was still in office. The rest of your observations are pure opinion. I am a happy person. I donate time and money to various charities. And I teach my children that nothing is handed to them that is worth having. They must work hard to achieve their goals. And I am a "liberal". My conservative friends are EXTREMELY unhappy. Thanks to conservative propaganda my father is so depressed and needlessly scared, that I can't have a conversation with him about anything other than his opinion that the country is going to hell. It's all he thinks about.
Perhaps another reason conservatives are more happy is because they are quite content to stay in their delusional world where as long as their family is happy, they are happy. Fair enough. Liberals realize that there is pain and suffering and sorrow out there and that this world is far from perfect. Perhaps you have the causality wrong. May be people who are unhappy and yearn for a fairer, more just world tend to be Democrat.
Here's your 2nd liberal Portland commenter. But I am a native Texan who also lived in Colo Springs for 30 yrs; I began as a conservative. Raised by unhappy conservative parents whose families believed in denying real feelings, I was surrounded by extended family who had alcoholism, depression, child abuse, spouse abuse, infidelity..but everyone went to church and smiled a lot at family reunions-denial didn't make them ACTUALLY happy, but it looked good in the photos!
Definitely I don't agree w/your assessment that liberals want govt help, but conservatives say "no thanks"! Please! Churches take tax exemptions & faith-based initiative TAX money, businesses take special tax breaks-THAT is conservatism "on the dole!"
My life in fundamentalism (I've been out of religion-"clean & sober"-for 15 yrs)was not all sham, but there was more hypocrisy there than among my liberal friends now. And we volunteer and donate to charities MORE than my church friends did - conservatives donate mostly to CHURCHES,where the money supports grand buildings & preachers, etc.
I haven't found liberals to be an unhappy lot-to the contrary, they are able to discuss their problems in life realistically, while my conservative friends just pretended no one ever had an affair, an abortion or a suicide in the family. There is a lot of liberal laughter around here, so you must not be talking to the right people!
Where are your statistics? Could you give us links to the "studies"? Thanks.
Wish I'd seen LoyalJetFan's comment before I wrote earlier.
There is no special wisdom or honor in birthing a lot of children. In fact, a lot of liberals have fewer children because they believe it's WISER and better for a world that has limited physicial resources! Americans use FAR more than our fair share of the resources.(And I think the Kennedys would disagree w/you that only conservatives can raise large families well!)
If you believe that only religion gives us values, you believe a fairy tale. I know a lot of liberal non-religious people who have lived long and moral lives w/o fear of God or hell. Please branch out and read some studies other than from the religious Barna Group.
@nroreader599 - here on the east coast my liberal friends (and as a conservative in a blue state, you either have liberal friends or you become a hermit) tend to live their private lives *very* conservatively, exactly as you describe yourself and your neighbors. And why not? When the rubber meets the road, you and I don't mess around with our own personal success, do we? We go with what works.
The issue is about our governments and the policies we put in place for the common good, and that's where liberalism fails dreadfully. Your liberal Portland has a crime rate that is one of the highest in the nation - a familiar symptom of liberal meccas. While your neighborhood may be copasectic, something is obviously not right in Portland. Of course, we're happy to let you guys "do your thing" - after all, you know, states rights & all that jazz (a conservative principle).
Don't be seduced by the "liberal brand" you became accustomed to in college. You'll be on our side by the time you are 50. That's ok - we're here - we'll leave the light on for you.
@ LoyalJetFan- Do you really think that conservatives make better parents? I have seen no evidence to back that up. Most liberals are not out being wild and crazy and attending orgies, they are meeting their responsibilities. How do you think liberals actually live? That much different than you, really?
@ Marsha - Though I could be wrong on this, I believe the tax code treats churches more or less the same as other non-profit organizations. That's fine.
Marsha - you logged on to prove Prager's point, right? You're a ringer, right? Hates parents, hates their religion, is now liberal - wowie zowie.
Here's a study, by one of yours: Jonathan Haidt, psych prof at University of Virginia. He describes himself as a secular liberal and an atheist, and he specifically explores why conservatives, specifically cultural conservatives are happy. The title is "Moral Psychology and Misunderstanding of Religion" and you can search for it on the web.
Now go call your parents and tell them you love them.
Just when I was FEEELING blue, along comes a terrific pep talk.
Gratitude for the extraordinary good fortune of getting to live life in this place at this time. Understanding that failing to "win" isn't necessarily fatal and that, while feelings are fleeting, important things like faith, loyalty, commitment and patience (add some more yourself) endure.
Thanks Mr. Prager! And a very happy Thanksgiving 2010 to you and those close to you from this very happy conservative.
First, I have to make a comment about the notion that conservatives are rational and liberals emotional. Glenn Beck must have missed the memo!! Not to mention a lot of the tea party people seem to be driven by emotions.
Mr. Buckley certainly was not one to lose his cool. I saw one archival clip where he lost it when Gore Vidal called him a crypto-Nazi. The conservative movement needs another William F. Buckley for a number of reasons.
@LoyalJetFan - I posit that that if you and your liberal friends live more or less the same sort of lifestyle, then how would you define a conservative lifestyle versus a liberal lifestyle? There are certainly radical or fringe lifestyles and sub-cultures on both right and left but they are at the margins.
It is actually the case that there higher rates of divorce and more social instability (e.g., non intact families) in red states and conservative areas than in blue states and liberal areas.
As for crime, Portland has some like any other city but come on it is not nearly as bad as most cities. Portland is a relatively safe city but, like any city, there are certain areas I would not visit at night. That said, I don't blame conservative politics for the extremely high crime in cities in some conservative states any more than conservatives should blame crime on a liberal state's policies. To blame liberals or conservatives for long standing, seemingly intractable social problems is unhelpful at best.
While we are at it, please explain why social dysfunction seems to be more prevalent in so-called conservative areas? I am talking about divorce rates, single parents, etc. It is even to the point where it is completely accepted. Sarah Palin's daughter has a kid out of wed lock. No problem. If Sarah Palin were a prominent liberal, then conservatives would be screaming about it.
I was wandering around and found this, not being a regular reader of National Review. I just had to take a moment to comment because you made me laugh. That's significant because I am a liberal and, despite your article proposing all kinds of pseudo-logical reasons for why your point of view is true (without citing any specific data to support your theory), I am a happy person. I don't seek government help. I work for a living, own my own place, pay my own bills and spend plenty of money and time devoted to charity work in my community, my country and abroad. I love to laugh and this article made me guffaw at its ludicrous notions. I will accept that there may be some psychological and even some physiological reasons why conservatives and liberals are predisposed to believe as they do. But for someone to plop down personal happiness as a reason why conservatives are "better", is the depth of ignorance and just plain laughable. Maybe someday I'll stop by here again - but certainly not for fact-based information - just because I need another laugh.
Pure baloney. Our resources are NOT limited, only our current technology. There was a time when whale oil was "running out." Malthus was, and is, provably wrong. Our share is what we make and or buy, so we are not "using" more, we are producing or buying more. And please, don't put the Kennedys out there as an exemplars. Joe was a bootlegging philanderer, JFK too, minus the bootlegging, and Teddy let MJK die rather than ruin his career, and the family and the press assisted.
Everyone knows good, moral people who are not religious, so what? True religion exists to let the believer know he isn't as wonderful as he thinks he is, and to offer him a way out of his wickedness. Morality is an aside, at least for Christianity, although one can be excused for not knowing this, given the televangelist nonsense so rampant in America.
Anyone who truly believes in the perfectability of mankind is in for huge disappointment. It's sad that some people don't know this, and act, and legislate as if it could be done.
Sandymac said, "without citing any specific data to support your theory"
Uh, Dennis quoted 3 sources in the first sentence, so unless your definition of 'specific data' differs from the rest of the world's, you weren't paying attention.
Furthermore, I love it when people dismiss a general assertion because they don't fit (or think they don't fit even though they actually do). I don't think Dennis is trying to say that 100% of liberals are unhappy, or that 100% of conservatives are happy, just that conservatives as a whole tend to be happier and he has some polls and other research to support this view.
Conservatives tend to dislike change that is forced upon them from some so-called experts in a far away place. Liberals on the other hand, pretty much dislike everything since they think experts hold all the answers if we would just bow down and let them run things. This is liberal fascism and it's unbelievable that so-called educated people can look at history and think that progressive ideology is any different from Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Hitler, etc. The Tea Party, on the other hand, has no figurehead, and that drives liberals crazy. In their world, there must be a leader and it is that belief that makes them so susceptible to corruption. Corruption runs rampant in the Democratic Party, yet even convicted liberals get re-elected.
This article is ridiculous. If liberals are unhappy, it is because they are more informed. There may be a grain of truth in this as far as lack of personal responsibility goes but that is it. It is difficult to be happy when one knows that the world can end at any time due to nuclear attack. It difficult to be happy when one knows that millions are dying because of hunger and genocide and it does not have to happen. It is difficult to be happy when injustice is everywhere. I personally do not subscribe to the everyone is racist theory but I know that people still discriminate for other reasons. People are slain everyday just because of a made up deity. These are the reasons liberals are unhappy.If you are happy about the way the world is, you need to take a serious look at your perspective. By the way, I am a moderate not a liberal. I strongly believe in personal responsibility. I'm just not ignorant like the author of this article.
I suggest everyone actually read the Pew poll results:
pewsocialtrends.org/2008/10/23/republicans-still-happy-campers/
It's very interesting and actually uses facts and math to back up claims unlike the author here who prefers to use broad assumptions. With that said, it does sort of back up his central thesis that republicans answer the question of "how happy are you?" with more positive answers.
On the other hand, the "happiest" nations in the world are also some that some on the right villify as socialists: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden. And that contradicts the central thesis leaving us no smarter than when we started!
