Cheer Up, Citizens

Discover how to increase your wellbeing today amid government propaganda and media-obsessed politicians. Explore human nature's complexities.

Written byNeuroskeptic
| 1 min read
Google NewsGoogle News Preferred Source

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news

Sign Up

Does anyone else find this here video (via BBC) very odd? It's what can only be described as a government propaganda clip, but rather than trying to persuade or inform it's basically telling you to cheer up. Or as they put it "Increase your wellbeing today!" - they must have a jargon quota to meet. Maybe this is what happens when media-obsessed politicians listen to people to Lord Layard who say that they should be trying tomake the population happier?

Also - a lot of psychologists and philosophers would say that everything we do is motivated by the desire to increase our own well-being, which would make the advice a bit redundent. Is this video proof that this theory of human nature is wrong? I wonder what Jeremy Bentham would say.

Meet the Author

Stay Curious

JoinOur List

Sign up for our weekly science updates

View our Privacy Policy

SubscribeTo The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Subscribe