I've been skimming through Ehrenreich's Bright-Sided and it strikes me that positive psychology is just a tool with no factional preference. She describes how conservatives of both the capitalist and Christian bents (groups that overlap frequently but far from always) embrace it, as do liberals of every bent. Capitalists can believe that those who fail in our economy are simply not maintaining the right attitude--it's their fault! Christians and other religious conservatives can believe that sin and misfortune are the inevitable consequences of not holding the proper mindset, i.e. the proper beliefs. They tried, they preached the good news, and all who embraced it and felt good were lifted up, and those who didn't have the right attitude obviously hadn't embraced the right teachings and that's why they failed.
Liberals can believe that all of the social problems that they seek to remedy have easy solutions. Reformers will have to work but not, you know, too hard. They just need to impart the right attitude to kids, and if the attitudes don't solve problems then it's either because the kids didn't embrace it (if you're willing to go there) or, if you prefer not to go there, their parents and teachers didn't reinforce it, or the rest of society didn't see them through the same happy lens, or whatever. Bottom line, if there's a problem, it's that somebody out there in this cold, cruel world just wasn't happy-shiny world wasn't nice enough and open enough and we just need to fix that and then it will be great.
As for me, I believe that there are no secret tricks, no correct politics. Just liars and lunatics.
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