{"product_id":"the-happiness-fantasy-hardback-9781509523801","title":"The Happiness Fantasy (Hardback) 9781509523801","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Happiness Fantasy\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eCarl Cederström (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781509523801, Polity Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 14 September 2018\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e200 pages\u003cbr\u003e21.6 x 14 x 2 cm, 0.34 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Happiness is big business - and big politics - these days. But as Cederstrom shows in this sharp and engaging book, its recent history can be disturbing. Combining humor with a much-needed skepticism, he shows that in a world of happiness, not all is smiles.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eDarrin M. McMahon, author of \u003ci\u003eHappiness: A History\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"In this lively and acerbic book, Carl Cederstrom provides a compelling history of how a particular psychoanalytic ideal of happiness sucked us in, promising total fulfillment but ultimately trapping us in a lie.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eWill Davies, Goldsmiths, University of London\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Pleasure was at the heart of the liberation struggles of the 1960s' but has morphed into a new form of ideology and tyranny, fed by the capitalist logic of incessant consumption. The happy self is not only a fantasy, an imperative to fulfill our potential, but also the impulse behind a wide variety of economic enterprises, orgasmic workshops, drugs, therapies, etc. Cedertrom's \u003ci\u003eThe Happiness Fantasy\u003c\/i\u003e is a well-written, lively, and critical study of the fantasy that has wormed inside the core of our culture.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eEva Illouz, Hebrew University of Jerusalem\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"A wonderful piece of work.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eSimon Critchley, New School for Social Research\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"With compelling clarity, wit and wisdom, Carl Cederström cuts through the disabling illusions ceaselessly promoting the personal pursuit of happiness, offering instead an altogether richer, more compassionate, embrace of life and its vicissitudes.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eLynne Segal, author of \u003ci\u003eRadical Happiness: Moments of Collective Joy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"wise and witty\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eIn this devastatingly witty new book, Carl Cederström traces our present-day conception of happiness from its roots in early-twentieth-century European psychiatry, to the Beat generation, to Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. He argues that happiness is now defined by a desire to be \"authentic\", to experience physical pleasure, and to cultivate a quirky individuality. But over the last fifty years, these once-revolutionary ideas have been co-opted by corporations and advertisers, pushing us to live lives that are increasingly unfulfilling, insecure and narcissistic.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In an age of increasing austerity and social division, Cederström argues that a radical new dream of happiness is gathering pace. There is a vision of the good life which promotes deeper engagement with the world and our place within it, over the individualism and hedonism of previous generations. Guided by this more egalitarian worldview, we can reinvent ourselves and our societies.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 The Birth of the Happiness Fantasy: In Bed with Wilhelm Reich\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 Compulsory Narcissism: Happiness in an Age of Precariousness\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 Happiness Inc.: The Corporate Takeover of the Happiness Fantasy\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 Happiness Drugs: From Space-Age Mysticism to Productivity Enhancement\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 Pleasure: A Distinctly Male Fantasy\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConclusion: Happiness after Trump\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: History [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on History\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22History%20%5BHB%5D%22\"\u003eHB\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Polity","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52441789366552,"sku":"9781509523801","price":31.28,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9781509523801.jpg?v=1785025295","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-happiness-fantasy-hardback-9781509523801","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}