Check out this new study in Scientific American that shows why conservatives are happier than liberals.

The study rightly points out that conservatives tend to see inequity as due to differences in the meritocracy. In other words, the harder you work and achieve, the more you get. Whereas progressives tend to see inequity as an inherently unjust system. Unchangeable. And thus, the world is out to get them and they are helpless and at its mercy.

But there are two other key philosophical reasons why conservatives are happier than progressives.

First, conservatives realize that they can change their environment through work and ingenuity. And they are not ashamed of that fact. Conservatives realize that its not a fixed pie, and that there are resources, technology and achievement that can change outcomes and better their lives. And they are unashamed of using the resources of our planet, human time and ingenuity. And that is seen as a supreme value and something which demands compensation and recognition. It's not evil oil, it's energy. It's not a sweatshop, but a place that provides much greater pay than agricultural labor. It's not drudgery, but productive work.

Second, conservatives understand directly or indirectly that the key to happiness is ... productive work!! When one achieves something that requires effort, time, thought, determination, exercise, etc., one develops a sense of pride in that accomplishment. And happiness is the result of the pride, fulfillment and compensation that comes with the achievement. And this applies to interpersonal relationships, business transactions, weight loss, long term goals etc. Nothing in life is free, and nothing in life worth doing is easy. If we take the time to reciprocate value in our emotional and material dealings, we get value.

On the left, there is content in simply waiting for the winds of fate to bring the handout. Or expecting someone to give endlessly in a relationship, with no reciprocation. And thus, no value. Hence the hedonistic, short term pleasure-oriented and valueless culture of the left. Marriage or civil union is a lot of hard work and reciprocation. Why bother if you are on the left. It's easier to just flit from sexcapade to sexcapade living the life of the personal ads in The Stranger.

And hard work and responsibility is out of the question when one can sign up to a high paying union job, state or local government job where they can't be fired, and will get guaranteed raises, etc. Need healthcare? Why be proactive, exercise and eat right when you can petition your government to hold a gun to the heads of doctors and give it to you for free. And if all else fails, just cry victim and wait for the televisions cameras. When one does not want to give any value, one has no value, and should not expect any value or its benefits in return.

Being a Progressive should be a source of endless shame, and so it is no wonder it is also a state of mind that produces defective relationships, sans value, failed expensive inefficient cultures, and ultimately unhappiness.

Need examples? Just go read the comments at DailyKos or locally at HorsesAss. Or think about how many liberal freinds you have who ended up divorced. Or consider why your gas prices are high, when the knee jerk answer from Progressives is that it can't be done, be it using our oil, building new power plants, fixing bridges, etc. Or consider the high price of socialist Europe vs. the return on that investment in terms of limited property, less work, less happiness, less freedom, etc. The metrics are all there. And in places where there is even stronger Progressive ideology like the dictatorships of Cuba and Zimbabwe, outcomes are even worse.

A Progressive / Collectivist philosophy is one of failure, no wonder they are unhappy.