Jan 16 2013: The pursuit of happiness is definitely not a solely conservative idea, but a fundamental political and human idea. Hope and the striving for a better state is a bipartisan. Poor economic standing doesn't help anyone. Both republicans and democrats can agree that poor economic status creates frustration and resentment among the people, thus there is unhappiness within their political base. Democrats believe in a level playing field where everyone is helped and able to benefit from a thriving economy. I do not believe that money necessarily buys happiness, but it definitely helps (to a certain extent). Democrats believe in sharing everyone's money to invest in public infrastructure so that everyone's status of living is raised, thus we have happier people. The idea that one should be able to hoard and keep millions of dollars for one’s self, without fairly giving back is a republican idea ->given the bush tax cuts for the very wealthy. At that level, more money does not buy more happiness. The ideas of what brings happiness, and how government should go about helping all to achieve happiness, differ between political parties, but they both believe in the American economy to help increase happiness. In present day American society, one cannot hope to be happy and comfortable without a steady flow of income. Happiness for all is happiness for all. We as a society are only as strong as our weakest link.
TEDCred score: 0.00 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.
A comment on Conversation: Is Happiness a conservative, status-quo concept?