Week 10 post 2

         On the most basic level,  the happiness of humanity is contingent on social justice. Unfortunately, in today's society,  happiness cannot just be based upon relationships with other people because humans depend upon each other on a globalized level and the systems they have created to survive. It is no longer a man eats man World; instead, it is a  Corporation, and systems eat man world. Research suggests that governments that support policies such as healthcare and parental leave positively benefit by increasing the happiness of their country's people and the productivity of their economy.  Salvatore Di Martino and Isaac Prilleltensky used data concerning the equity of Education, healthcare,  unemployment support for native and non-native people,  non-discrimination policies, gender representation in government,  and intergenerational justice that back the claim that comparative to the policies of the United States countries that implement social justice support have higher levels of happiness and a better GDP.  These countries have created greater trust in their institutions,  which has improved citizens' relationship with the government and other people. It has decreased discriminatory opinions towards other people because people are less stressed and less likely to make others the scapegoat of their personal issues.  From a neurological standpoint, this has a straightforward explanation. The amygdala and insula in liberals and conservatives, specifically in America, have shaped political beliefs through fear levels. For liberals, the fear is based on concern for society as a whole, and conservatives fear is typically based on more self-centered concerns. This aligns with happier countries' economic evaluations because they produce less reason for fear and create more trust in institutions, thus more productivity. This would decrease the cognitive bias that frequently plagues conservative mindsets.

         In the end, this all boils out to the brain's reaction to philosophy.   American society is contending with an incredible arrogance that stems from the ethnocentric philosophies America was founded upon. The hubris philosophy created by white men of high hierarchical positions has created a society that sets so many Americans against progress. Politics is undeniably multifaceted,  but it all comes down to morals. While Morals are contingent upon psychology, environment, culture, etcetera, philosophy is the culmination and answer to these beliefs and understandings.  America has created a narrative that they are the greatest, with no evidence for that claim. So when Americans are raised believing that the philosophy that built this country truly will bring freedom and happiness, it is undeniable that they will be skeptical of change. Of course, people do not want to hear that the country they once viewed as the greatest, is not in fact, the greatest. So on some level, America needs to change the philosophy it is based upon. America needs to remind itself that dissent is a founding feature of the country and to forget that means to fall into ignorance and fascism.