Endless pursuit of happiness

In this essay, Lipovetsky examines the society of hyper-linking to all desire happiness. Reflect the role of consumption in contemporary society and its relationship to happiness, so desired by humans, is what the essay urges us to do. It comes in two parts: 1) The society of hyper, they are focused on the three eras of consumer capitalism, consumption emotional consumption, time and game, the organization post-Fordist economy, the turboconsumismo and The fabulous destiny Homo consumericus, 2) private pleasures, Happiness wound, which address the five major paradigmatic models that run the intelligibility of pleasure and happiness in our society: Penia: material pleasures, existential unhappiness, Dionysus, hedonistic society, society antidionísica; Superman obsession with performance, the pleasures of sense; Nemesis: overexposure of happiness, jealousy and regression of Homo Felix: grandeur and misery of a utopia.
Within this organization, to focus on the dilemmas that the individual in society called hypermodern faces. If prior to today's society, consumption was synonymous with economic power, made possible the occupation of personal status and position of prominence within the existing social hierarchy, today presents itself to building on new parameters, the logic of consumption today, differs from model previous consumption by their subjective, emotional, every day the consumer is in charge, increasingly, a new role identity.
However, the company, and hipermaterialista, seeking happiness ever more in externals, in materiality. With the contribution of scientific / technical power to lengthen the lifespan of power to transform your physique in the quest for beauty desired, to have available property, instrumentalities that apparently need to supply the thrills, the man did not feel fulfilled . He remains in constant pursuit, the subject of hyper-consumptive society zapeia his own life as zapeia stores, malls and supermarkets in search of something that leads out of the routine - it is not known to live with her and the events of the day to-day, such as loss, death, disease, and finally that there is no escape, you can not win, live, be healthy continuously and forever, one can not exist without the other, and yes, one exists in and by another.
Why this change of character of consumption promotes the development of his thought. Whereas at one time sought to promote social consumption, it currently searching for satisfaction, personal fulfillment, happiness, however, fell short of the world we dream, this is not the best of all worlds.
If on one hand the subject has access to things and possessions, to have an increasingly larger number of products for their consumption, welfare and improvement of quality of life, he either failed to want to take this happiness and consuming search. To maintain the beauty, good shape, for example, the subject is pressed, feels cornered, must curb his instincts, his will, his will, not by a determination or collective pressure, but solely by his own will, he alone experience moments of anguish, anxiety, stress, the search is arduous, intense and unending. Need uninterrupted policing what and how to eat, do, seek to achieve something that is all now under construction, which is transitory - the beauty and form-ideal.
In an era when the principles consumerist reached all spheres of social and individual life, the existential dissatisfaction is present. Becoming a guy, responsible for their skills, it becomes every day more exhausting, depressing is a daily struggle without truce and lonely. The frustration, fear, loneliness endless pursuit of happiness come knocking, happiness does not progress, stubbornly escapes the control of men.
The contemporary market no longer sells a product but a lifestyle, is available to the consumer plurality of styles, among which he decides who want to experience today, tomorrow is another day. In this relentless search for happiness, the realization, man experiences consumericus hedonism; to achieve it does not set limits, even if the drugs become accepted and developed to meet demand that is presented and growing every day - the search for happiness.
The more consumption, less sociocoercitivas rules. There are individual freedom, has the power to be who you want to be, when and for how long, time, speed and time of the lifestyle and want to experience the pleasures - prevalecência the wishes of joy here and now is determined by each.
If on one hand the society of hyper individuals who have achieved the progress of science and technology has so longed for the freedom of choice and action suffer shrinking social collective, something does not fit with that reality, he is not happy and increasingly need drugs to ensure the happiness, hope, or even the appetite, sleep ... These ideas are proposed in this essay to make us reflect on what might be obscured and shows that exist independently of the will of human beings, not something you buy - Happiness Paradoxical.

Text Lipovetsky, Gilles by Elizabeth Silva Conceicão