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sydthebeesknee's review against another edition
2.0
This was a little disappointing. I did not enjoy that this book was mostly synthesis, read like a literature review, and lack a clear thesis. I will say, the book's structure means that now I feel like I have an excellent resource to find other resources on collective joy and political economy because Segal's writing is so well-researched and cites heavily. As broad and heavily cited it was, I also feel like some points were undeveloped and under researched. For an example, Segal describes the very corporatized, reformist Black Lives Matter movement as a decentralized, non-hierarchical, radical movement.
I did like the two chapters on utopian thinking! These chapters were probably the strongest, in my opinion, because they strayed closest to the loosely-defined main thesis on the utility, possibility, and radical potential in collective joy.
Also, the breadth wasn't all bad! Segal mentions many interesting concepts, including anarchism, ecofeminism, and the weaknesses of direct democracy.
I did like the two chapters on utopian thinking! These chapters were probably the strongest, in my opinion, because they strayed closest to the loosely-defined main thesis on the utility, possibility, and radical potential in collective joy.
Also, the breadth wasn't all bad! Segal mentions many interesting concepts, including anarchism, ecofeminism, and the weaknesses of direct democracy.
drbjjcarpenter's review against another edition
2.0
Starts of well and then gets terribly distracted, with the topic of happiness (or joy) becoming completely sidelined in exchange for a pretty general critique of neoliberalism that pretty much fails to ever recover its focus on happiness. Not really much in here that's new, though the references are strong and the text helpfully signposts towards some interesting stuff. Just could have benefited from a clearer understanding of its own project tbh.
rebeccacider's review against another edition
3.0
Unfinished. I felt as if this book was composed of synthesis rather than analysis, and the disparate chapters didn't add up to a clear thesis. That said, I really enjoyed the later chapters about utopias and would love an entire book exploring the impact and possibilities of utopian fiction and ideals to create social change.
cbeatrizls's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
The title is misleading as this is more about collective action than happiness per se. Still a very interesting book.
marinamc1's review against another edition
4.0
for a book about happiness this was lowkey sad, the first chapters especially made me think a lot about my depression and get quite introspective. i’m glad i kept going as i learnt a lot and i think the central message of collective joy is rly important!
yourvillainoriginstory's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly the perfect pairing for “Pleasure Activism”, and “The Cultural Politics of Emotion”, more academic and rooted in history /theory than the former, yet far more accessibly readable than the latter. Each of these three texts speak so well to the ideas of what pleasure, joy, happiness, and at its base what even entails emotions, as in how do we define what emotions are, and what are the political, economic, etc motivations behind these definitions. They trace lineages, histories, constructs, restrictions, etc, through anti racist, feminist, queer, and decolonial lenses. Segal in particular offers a sweeping history of the terms and ideas behind these concepts of joy and happiness, stretching back through western history. Perhaps its only short-coming is that for being as in depth as it is, it holds a somewhat myopic scope, focusing almost exclusively on the history of happiness and joy from continental Europe, and occasionally from socialist movements internationally. That said, to do an internationally applicable project of this depth would take countless volumes! Also, it could have done more to incorporate madness and disability (making one think that “Care Work” or other such disability justice texts might play an important role in the conversation with the aforementioned texts), though I do think that the text offers important contributions to the work of madness studies (I incorporated it heavily into my mad research).
conspirationista's review against another edition
3.0
by no means the best critical treaty on the subject but some parts of it do be hittin' right. the same litany against neoliberalism you've heard before, featuring all the usual subjects and talking points but with a heavier emphasis on the redeeming power of collectivity
schopflin's review against another edition
2.0
Abandoned this one. I don't disagree with the premis that consumerism doesn't make one happy, but in places Segal conflates Depression with sadness, which makes her descriptions of happiness through collective political action grate a bit. And while I agree that diagnoses and drug prescribing are connected that doesn't mean that clinical depression isn't real. Happy to hear from anyone who has had better luck with this book.
indielitttttt's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to love this book, but it was not what I needed it to be. This read like a very long literature review. She touched on many many sources, but didn’t delve deep enough into the subject matter. Without reading the sources she mentions, you don’t get that much out of this book. The first 2 chapters were bland and boring, the middle 4 were ok, and the last one was long and boring. I wouldn’t classify this as a book about happiness, but rather a review of why we as a society are not happy. That would be fine if she had touched even a bit on how to achieve collective happiness but unfortunately that doesn’t happen. Overall a disappointing read.