Instead of just measuring economic health, should we be measuring our levels of happiness? That’s a question the United Nations is taking up this week in a session called “Wellbeing and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm.” But how worthwhile is the “pursuit of happiness” in the first place? Wake Forest English professor Eric G. Wilson is the author of “Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy.” He argues that Americans’ fixation on happiness comes at a cost. What do you think? Is pursuing happiness always the best policy? Tell us about a time when doing what made you happy actually made things worse.
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