The NY Times’ Thomas Edsall looked into this question of why liberals are allegedly so much unhappier than conservatives.
Why is it that a substantial body of social science research finds that conservatives are happier than liberals?
A partial answer: Those on the right are less likely to be angered or upset by social and economic inequities, believing that the system rewards those who work hard, that hierarchies are part of the natural order of things and that market outcomes are fundamentally fair.
Those on the left stand in opposition to each of these assessments of the social order, prompting frustration and discontent with the world around them.
Ok. I would put it slightly differently. Conservatives don’t have empathy for anyone who doesn’t look like them. And many of them take joy in their enemies’ suffering so these inequities make them happy since they consider people of color, LGBTQ, feminists etc their enemies. Lots to celebrate if that’s how you see the world.
Edsall sort of agrees:
Citing a wide range of polling data and academic studies, [Vox’s Zack] Beauchamp found:
* More than twice as many Republicans (39 percent) as Democrats (17 percent) believe that “if elected leaders won’t protect America, the people must act — even if that means violence.”
* Fifty-seven percent of Republicans consider Democrats to be “enemies” compared with 41 percent of Democrats who view Republicans as enemies.
* Among Republicans, support for “the use of force to defend our way of life,” as well as for the belief that “strong leaders bend rules” and that “sometimes you have to take the law in your own hands,” grows stronger in direct correlation with racial and ethnic hostility.
… [They] respond to adversity and what they see as attacks from the left with threats and anger, while a segment of the left often but not always responds to adversity and social inequity with dejection and sorrow.
As I said, they have no empathy for anyone who isn’t a mirror image of themselves — which explains their worship of Donald Trump. He is the biggest asshole on the planet and they love him for it. Look at how much fun they have at his rallies.