Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Politics does not make one happy

Humans are social animals and they benefit from interactions with others, most of the time. Personally I enjoy spending time with family, colleagues and neighbors, although I get really frustrated with anything related to politics, as may have transpired on this blog. Does this very anecdotal evidence generalize?

Stephan Humpert takes a German survey and checks how membership to various social groups effects life satisfaction. It is not a surprise there are stark gender difference, although not necessarily the way I would have thought. For example, men are particularly enthused by hobby clubs. Women particularly enjoy parents associations and citizens initiatives, and also sports societies, 26% being members in those. So much for the image of women being uninterested in sports. However, they dislike being in trade unions. Well, trade unions may follow peer pressure at work and may be understandable. Politics are rather neutral in terms of satisfaction. I guess Germans do not get as frustrated as I do, at least those involved in politics.

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