Day 16 SWB

Obsessed with all things happiness (I can't bring myself to mention the P word today, me and P need some time apart) and hanging out in the slightly chaotic streets of Naples, I have taken an interest in Italian Happiness levels. I decided against dabbling in a bit of ethnographic research, mostly because the idea of approaching Italian men in a rather seedy part of the city and inquiring 'what makes you happy?' is probably ill advised. SO I return once more to the Internet.

AND stumble across an article that makes next to no sense about SWB in Italy. The term 'Subjective Well-Being' is followed immediately by the word 'happiness' in brackets. So general aim of said article is: 'estimating microeconomic happiness (subjective well-being - just so you know) equations in order to examine the effects socio-demographic characteristics and economic conditions on subjective evaluations of happiness'. Come again? Is SWB a unit that can be measured?

Thoroughly confused I of course want to know more. After all the motivational speakers and New Age Nonsense, I’m intrigued as to how economics, along with science, measures happiness.

University of Leicester to the rescue... Adrian White, an academic of All Things Happy, has 'mapped' global happiness levels using SWB. He states that happiness is 'somewhat intangible' (I love scientific explanations) but 'very important'. So, apart from meaning (happiness), what the hell is SWB and how can something with subjective as the first word in the title be measured objectively (insofar as science can be objective. ANOTHER DAY GUYS!!)

SWB is determined, it would seem, by circumstances (circumstances triumphing over biological factors and temporary mood swings). White's work uses data from the Happy Planet Index (sounds ominous) and demonstrates that SWB correlates most strongly to health, then wealth, then education. Overall however, and influencing all listed variables so far, is poverty. Back to the Confusing Italian Article – income and wealth increase happiness, fair dos, but as part of this – and not unique to but certainly evident in Italy – happiness can be negatively influenced by social peer groups. So it kind of doesn’t matter how many Euros you’re swimming in, if the guy next door has more, you ain’t happy. Well, subjectively less happy.

OH SWEET MOTHER OF AMARETTO I am thinking myself in circles. All this essentially harks back to is the heady days of utilitarianism and the Greatest Happiness Principe. Philosophy, politics, socio-economic variability should all work towards Greatest Happiness for all. But it kind of doesn't anymore because we're so bogged down in Other Things (mostly materialism). I don't know how I feel about any of this, mostly confused and I apologise if I've confused you with these ramblings (my lecturer referred to me recently as 'that stream of consciousness'), but essentially I'm not too bothered by SWB. I'm sure it has many uses economically and politically, but it reeks of Western ideology and yet is applied on a global level and over-generalises to an almost incredible degree.

Ahh and I should perhaps mention here that Self Help Book Week is firmly on hold - a critical element of the week, namely, books, have been left in London.

Oh right and a mission for today. I'm going to put together a top ten list of Things That Make Me Happy In Italy. I can already say, very confidently, that spaghetti drenched in olive oil, with a smattering of king prawns, mussels, and clams comes pretty damn high.