Seeking Happiness in Consumer Society. Inspirations for Pedagogy

Abstract

One of the tasks of education in preparing an individual to professional work. However, in the sphere of human’s work, dynamic transformations determined by many factors take place, including the development of consumer civilization, in which being happy is like a “duty”. The article ponders upon the concept that consumer civilization appears attractive owing to its development being based on the assumption that happiness is the ultimate goal one should strive for. Yet, happiness is understood as a kind of pleasure, which means that an individual adopts a hedonistic attitude. The tendency to identify happiness with possessing goods influences the lives of both the individual, along with their attitude towards work, and consequently – the whole society. By glorifying the consumption ethos as the factor behind social development and growing rich, the category of happiness becomes distorted and its correlates – neglected. The authors of the paper have devoted it to the analysis of the so-called happiness formula in the reality of consumer civilization. The aim of the reflections is the postulate for pedagogy to pay close research attention to the relations between an individual and happiness.