The Liberal/Conservative Happiness divide

Napoleon said:

Misery loves company.

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Napoleon said:

Misery loves company.

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Diving Mullah said:

Sure an alcoholic is happier when drunk. A drug addict is happier when high, does this mean being alcoholic or addict is better than not being one?

1) Self reporting is not objective
Conservatives report being happier—but self-reporting is notoriously flaky. It’s the psychological equivalent of someone saying “I’m not mad” while punching a wall. Conservatives are more likely to value stoicism, tradition, and resilience, which could skew self-assessments upward due to social desirability bias—i.e., “I’m fine. I’m strong. I’m not whining like those libs.”


Meanwhile, liberals may feel more comfortable admitting dissatisfaction, because their worldview often embraces systemic critique and emotional honesty.

2) Happiness vs Awareness

There’s an argument to be made that some liberals are less happy not because they’re maladjusted—but because they’re more attuned to systemic problems. Climate change, racial injustice, economic inequality—these aren’t things to smile about. If you see injustice clearly, it’s hard to say, “Yeah, I’m good, pass the mimosa.”


It’s like saying the fire alarm is more annoying than the fire. Sure. But the alarm might save the house.


3) Causality: chicken or Egg, meet Elephant

The question of whether happiness leads to conservatism or vice versa is unresolved. But here’s a twist: Material comfort—home ownership, job stability, marriage—tends to correlate both with happiness and conservatism. So are conservatives happier... or are comfortable people more likely to become conservative to protect the status quo that benefits them?


Also: as people age, they tend to accumulate wealth and stability, which makes them more risk-averse. That's not “getting tougher”—that’s investment in preservation.

Religiosity and Happiness: Comfort vs Clarity

Religious people do report higher happiness—no contest. But this might say less about theology and more about community, ritual, and perceived meaning. Faith offers comfort, structure, and a sense of purpose. But it’s worth asking: is this happiness born of truth, or is it more like anesthesia for existential dread?


One can be both deeply moral and non-religious, just as one can be devout and deeply wrong.

4) Black Libs vs White Libs

The observation that Black liberals are happier than white liberals might actually support the “systemic awareness” argument. White liberals often wrestle with guilt, historical awareness, and overwhelming headlines. Black liberals, on the other hand, may have had to develop psychological resilience out of necessity, and their communities often combine liberal politics with strong familial, cultural, and sometimes religious support network

5) GenZ and Age of Doomscrolling

Yes, Gen Z is less happy. But let’s be honest: we gave them climate collapse, economic precarity, mass shootings, pandemic trauma, and TikTok-fueled body dysmorphia. Their unhappiness isn’t immaturity—it’s a rational reaction to a world lurching toward absurdity.


And no, 1980s movies don’t count as historical data. Unless you’re doing a thesis on how Ferris Bueller represents neoliberal escapism.


Summation

Conservatives may report more happiness—but happiness isn't the only, or even always the best, measure of well-being or engagement with reality. Liberals may be unhappier not because their values are broken—but because they’re paying attention. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. But it’s not wisdom.

Diving Mullah

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Diving Mullah said:

Sure an alcoholic is happier when drunk. A drug addict is happier when high, does this mean being alcoholic or addict is better than not being one?

1) Self reporting is not objective

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Napoleon said:

We don’t need 50 pages to say that being a professional malcontent is a strong indication of being miserable generally. Happiness isn’t a measure of wellbeing? That’s a new one.

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jmotivator said:

Nate Silver wrote recently on a study that found that Conservatives are generally happier than Liberals.

I would probably argue that this is a "farts smell" kind of study since Liberal/Progressives are liberal/progressive because they demand change and generally think the culture is perpetually awful, so the Liberal/Conservative groups self selects on satisfaction with life naturally.

The interesting thing is that Black liberals are happier than white liberals, and conservative blacks, Asians and Hispanics are happier than liberals in general.

Pretty much every single demographic split shows conservatives happier than liberals, and in most cases every conservative demographic is happier than the average liberal. The one noticeable exception is that happiness for poor conservatives is in a statistical tie with middle class liberals.

What none of this really says is what the causal direction actually is. Are you more conservative because you are happy, or more happy because you are conservative? I can see an argument being made either way.

Gen Z seems like the least happy group, regardless of political persuasion, though there is certainly a well known demographic trend that people get more conservative with age, so their low happiness scores can also be connected to life not having toughened them up yet. Watching 80s movies will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that my generation was a bunch on anxiety ridden whiners when we were young.

Also, it's no surprise that there is a strong correlation between religiosity and happiness. I've known a a lot of people who found faith (myself included) who say they always had something missing in their life as an atheist. Finding religion for me didn't really make me happy, though, I just find I deal with hardship better now than I used to...

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jmotivator said:

Your problem here is that happiness is also not objective, it's a state of mind, and the only person who can determine that is yourself.

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reinaert said:

Cool. How does this explain redhat permanent apocalyptic conspiratorial bitter victimism?

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jmotivator said:

Your problem here is that happiness is also not objective, it's a state of mind, and the only person who can determine that is yourself.

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jmotivator said:

It doesn't. It just means that Bitter redhat apocalyptic, bitter victimists are probably considerably happier than Bluehat apocalyptic bitter victimists.

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reinaert said:

Happiness is (a) social and (b) measurable. If a single person is experiencing a pleasurable affect, it's probably not simply happiness.

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jmotivator said:

False. I'm starting to see why liberals are so much less happy. They don't even know what happiness is.

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Pyrite said:

Just as the respondents in the survey determined the state of their own mental health.

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Pyrite said:

Please provide the link to the OP.

Thank you.

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Pyrite said:

Please provide the link to the OP.

Thank you.

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jmotivator said:

Nate Silver wrote recently on a study that found that Conservatives are generally happier than Liberals.

I would probably argue that this is a "farts smell" kind of study since Liberal/Progressives are liberal/progressive because they demand change and generally think the culture is perpetually awful, so the Liberal/Conservative groups self selects on satisfaction with life naturally.

The interesting thing is that Black liberals are happier than white liberals, and conservative blacks, Asians and Hispanics are happier than liberals in general.

Pretty much every single demographic split shows conservatives happier than liberals, and in most cases every conservative demographic is happier than the average liberal. The one noticeable exception is that happiness for poor conservatives is in a statistical tie with middle class liberals.

What none of this really says is what the causal direction actually is. Are you more conservative because you are happy, or more happy because you are conservative? I can see an argument being made either way.

Gen Z seems like the least happy group, regardless of political persuasion, though there is certainly a well known demographic trend that people get more conservative with age, so their low happiness scores can also be connected to life not having toughened them up yet. Watching 80s movies will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that my generation was a bunch on anxiety ridden whiners when we were young.

Also, it's no surprise that there is a strong correlation between religiosity and happiness. I've known a a lot of people who found faith (myself included) who say they always had something missing in their life as an atheist. Finding religion for me didn't really make me happy, though, I just find I deal with hardship better now than I used to...

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jmotivator said:

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Bok Tuklo said:

Does seem plausible, though.

Fascism is taking over in the United States. Conservatives are happy about that. Liberals, not so much.

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jmotivator said:

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