Downstream: Elon Musk Wants to Be Napoleon w/ Will Davies

In 'The Happiness Industry', William Davies explores how the concept of happiness has been transformed from a subjective personal experience into an objective, quantifiable phenomenon. The book delves into the historical roots of this transformation, tracing it back to Utilitarian philosophy and the early days of American psychology. Davies argues that this quantification of happiness has led to increased mental health problems, alienation, and manipulation by political and economic elites. He critiques the ways in which corporate and governmental forces use surveillance, targeted advertising, and psychological profiling to maintain a docile and economically efficient population. The book also examines the impact of these practices on workplace productivity, consumerism, and the broader social fabric.

In 'Nervous States: Democracy and the Decline of Reason,' William Davies examines the tension between technocratic government institutions based on reason, fact-finding, and scientific analysis, and the increasing influence of nationalistic sentiment characterized by a distrust of elite interests and a promotion of emotion over fact. The book delves into historical analysis and contemporary examples to illustrate how societies have created states that struggle to meet the expectations placed upon them due to economic and philosophical limitations. Davies also discusses the impact of the attention economy, moral outrage, and the exploitation of emotions in political discourse.

In 'The Anxious Generation', Jonathan Haidt examines the sudden decline in the mental health of adolescents starting in the early 2010s. He attributes this decline to the shift from a 'play-based childhood' to a 'phone-based childhood', highlighting mechanisms such as sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, and perfectionism that interfere with children’s social and neurological development. Haidt proposes four simple rules to address this issue: no smartphones before high school, no social media before age 16, phone-free schools, and more opportunities for independence, free play, and responsibility. The book offers a clear call to action for parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments to restore a more humane childhood and end the epidemic of mental illness among youth.