‘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.’
Lynne Segal, author of Radical Happiness:
Moments of Collective Joy
‘In this lively and acerbic book, Carl Cederström provides a compelling history of how a particular psychoanalytic ideal of happiness sucked us in, promising total fulfilment but ultimately trapping us in a lie.’
Will Davies, Goldsmiths, University of London
‘A wonderful piece of work.’
Simon Critchley, New School for Social Research
‘Happiness is big business – and big politics – these days. But as Cederström reveals in this sharp and engaging book, its recent history can be disturbing. Combining humour with a much-needed scepticism, he shows that in a world of happiness, not all is smiles.’
Darrin M. McMahon, author of Happiness: A History
‘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 fulfil our potential, but also the impulse behind a wide variety of economic enterprises, orgasmic workshops, drugs, therapies, etc. Cederström’s The Happiness Fantasy is a well-written, lively, and critical study of the fantasy that has wormed inside the core of our culture.’
Eva Illouz, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
polity
Copyright © Carl Cederström 2018
The right of Carl Cederström to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in 2019 by Polity Press
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All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-2384-9
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Cederström, Carl, 1980- author.
Title: The happiness fantasy / Carl Cederström.
Description: Medford, MA : Polity Press, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018004122 (print) | LCCN 2018006644 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509523849 (Epub) | ISBN 9781509523801 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509523818 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Happiness.
Classification: LCC BF575.H27 (ebook) | LCC BF575.H27 C43 2018 (print) | DDC 152.4/2--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018004122
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