After happiness

Happiness, as a goal of good government, is one of the founding concepts of modern political and economic theory, and it has enjoyed a resurgence of interest among sociologists, psychologists and economists recently, resulting in various prescriptions for public policy. The utilitarian concept of happiness that is deployed by this literature is examined here for its ideological implications. This is contrasted with the pessimistic views about happiness deriving from the psychoanalytic theories of Freud, Lacan and Zizek. Thus, an ideological role of happiness in the political 'organisation of enjoyment' is suggested. The present paper outlines problems with both the utilitarian and the psychoanalytic views, but they both contribute to this inquiry into the political uses of happiness in an age of advanced consumer capitalism. While utilitarian happiness research has sought to establish itself on an 'objective' scientific basis, and to question some assumptions of neo-classical economic theory, its political uses emerge as a renewal of an ideological discourse that is well adapted to third-way governance.