Semiotics of Happiness

A clever, careful dissection of contemporary claims by experts, politicians, and the media that modern societies have a happiness problem. What can I say? This book made me happy. -- Joel Best, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware, USA Ashley Frawley provides a compelling account of the social and political developments that have seen the issue of 'happiness' become a key focus of contemporary social policy. She charts the way in which we now conceptualise a wide range of social problems via the language of happiness and unhappiness. In an intelligent and persuasive manner she alerts us to the need to view the 'happiness agenda' as ultimately being conservative in nature, containing as it does an implicit critique of change, whereby the achievement of psychological equality is presented as a radical alternative to material advancement. Frawley's critique should encourage us to question such a lowering of both individual and societal expectations and she provides us with an intellectual resource with which to do so. -- Ken McLaughlin, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Care and Social Work, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK Amidst a deluge of uncritical outpourings from the media, policy makers and psychologists about the supposedly dire state of the nation's happiness, Ashley Frawley's book offers a forensic analysis of how a self-serving happiness and well-being industry has come to dominate British public policy and debate over the past 20 years. It's an indispensable read for anyone wanting to understand these far-reaching and serious developments. -- Kathryn Ecclestone, Professor of Education, University of Sheffield, UK