In 2015, the Japanese government announced its intention to “clamp down on holidays for citizens” of its country. When reading the headline of the news, many of us thought that Asian politicians had decided to limit the leisure time of the Japanese. But surprisingly, it was the opposite: measures were taken to force workers to use at least five of their days off. That same year, a survey by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Labor had found that its citizens did not get to take even half of their paid vacations.
The example of work addiction in Japan is just one more symptom of a worrying phenomenon: the progressive loss of hedonism. Since the work of the American anthropologist Ruth Benedict in the first half of the 20th century, many experts have divided the societies of the planet according to their propensity to promote responsibility or unconcern. There were cultures that encouraged their members to always act according to objectives. And there were others that favored people who lived for pleasure and fun. The former were called “Apolines”, and the latter, “Dionysian”. Little by little, this second cultural environment is disappearing. Even southern Europe, traditionally Dionysian, is taking on a rather Apollonian character.
Even our leisure time pursues goals
Increasingly, competitiveness, perfectionism, the measurement of vital success based on achievements and social prestige are encouraged. Even expansion activities also serve to achieve goals. We go to the gym to sculpt the body, we eat to feed ourselves correctly and without excesses, we learn sexual techniques to improve our erotic-affective life, we go out to socialize with potential clients … Our culture does not encourage us to do activities just for the sake of it, with no other purpose than to have a good time.
We tend to think that enjoying is very easy. But the truth is that “intelligent hedonism” – experiencing continuous and deep pleasure in various activities that do not have specific objectives – requires preparing the mind for it . If we do not take the time to cultivate the hedonistic psyche, we will lose the capacity to enjoy that defines us as people. Pleasure is one of those human phenomena that doesn’t seem important because it’s always been there. But if we lose it, we will miss it. And government edicts will be of no use to force us to enjoy ourselves.
