The politics of happiness: why conservatives smile more, where they do not and the policy need for happiness-mainstreaming

Even though individuals may not actively engage in political activities, they often hold political beliefs that latently align them with certain ideological groups. This may lead to the politicisation of the happiness experience. The present study explores this association between political ideology and subjective well-being (happiness), with a particular focus on why individuals who lean politically to the right often report higher levels of happiness. Data were drawn from the combined datasets of the World Values Survey and the European Values Survey (2017–2022 dataset). Drawing on moral foundations theory, system justification theory, institutional trust theory and self-determination theory, grounded in Bourdieu’s theory of habitus, the article examines how economic stability, self-determination and moral alignment shape the subjective experiences of happiness associated with political identity. Findings indicate that individuals with politically right-leaning ideologies (conservatives) tend to enjoy greater happiness, largely due to higher economic stability and a stronger sense of individual responsibility, factors that contribute to both objective well-being and perceived social status. However, this happiness advantage is likely to be offset by moral dissonance, especially when traditional values conflict with societal changes, such as increasing diversity or the adoption of progressive social norms. The study also highlights that political centrists report lower levels of happiness than those at either ideological extreme, suggesting that firm political alignment may offer a stronger sense of coherence and purpose. One of the important contributions of this study is its revelation of how individual-level experiences differ across countries.