Psychologists often explore the effects of systems that impact people's values, priorities, and goals -- such as religion, tradition, and personal habits. But one thing that psychologists rarely study is the impact of economic systems on mental health. Since I often find myself trying to dissect the psychological effects of all the systems in which I live, I find this lack of research particularly unsettling. However, I recently discovered and read a great article by a team of psychologists that analyzes the ways the human psyche is affected by capitalism -- or more specifically, American corporate capitalism (ACC).
To make a long story short, the team found that the world's most pervasive economic system requires that people place value on wealth and possessions (no big surprise there). The more interesting part is this:
...concern for wealth and possessions conflicts with working “to improve the world through activism or generativity,” having “satisfying relationships with family and friends,” and feeling “competent and autonomous.”... [E]mpirical research, conducted with different methodologies, from different theoretical perspectives, and with thousands of individuals from dozens of nations around the world, leads to a provocative conclusion: The values and goals most closely expressive of ACC’s ideology and institutions are also those that oppose and potentially undermine people’s concern for: a) promoting the welfare of others in the broader community; b) developing a sense of connection and closeness to other humans; and c) choosing paths in life that help them to feel worthy and autonomous. [Kasser, et al. (2007) "Some Costs of American Corporate Capitalism, Psychological Inquiry, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1–22.]
The authors argue that beyond the need for basics like food and shelter, human happiness depends on three major things: feeling useful, having close relationships with other people, and feeling capable and independent. Capitalism rewards working in one's self-interest; it generally does not reward promoting the welfare of the wider community. And self-interested goals often have more to do with wealth and possessions than strong personal relationships. What's more, capitalism often requires that people sell their skills (labor) by performing mundane, repetitive, or simply uninteresting tasks that undermine the sense of being useful and independent. In other words, our economic system is inherently at odds with our happiness.
So what to do about it? Capitalism is far from perfect, but it is an entrenched system that has many advantages. I don't know how to cure what ails our society, and neither do the authors of the article I read this week. But I do think that if we take a close look at the problems with our economic system, we can make conscientious decisions that improve our own odds of shaking the frustration, dissatisfaction, and depression that are far too common among us. We don't have to become communists, we just have to be more aware of the importance of:
a) promoting the welfare of others in the broader community
b) developing a sense of connection and closeness to other humans
c) choosing paths in life that help us to feel worthy and autonomous.
In fact, I feel better already. It's not hard to do those three things -- the hard part is recognizing how often we need to think about them. These principles should be our guidelines for decision-making. Review a decision you recently made. What principles guided your choice? Are you confident with the path you've chosen? If not, maybe you've forgotten how important it is to be kind, have friends, and do what you want to do. When it comes to being happy, maybe that's all there is to it.
