I happen to subscribe to the hedonistic philosophy that the pursuit of pleasure is what life is all about. On the whole it’s an easy philosophy to subscribe to and has, I feel, the edge over many rival philosophies and religions which suggest that a good dose of misery is what you really need because it turns you into a well balanced individual. If there is a god, I can’t imagine why he would want us to be unhappy. The problem with being a practicing hedonist though is that few people take you seriously. They believe you are frittering away your life on superficialities to the detriment of your inner growth and spiritual development. Which is very odd because the pursuit of wealth is regarded as perfectly normal by society.
Magazines constantly run lists of the 100 richest people but they never run lists of the 100 happiest people. That may be because they assume the 100 richest people are also the 100 happiest people, although the evidence would suggest otherwise. Most of the super-rich spend a large part of their lives protecting and growing their wealth which leaves them little time to concentrate on hedonism. Oh sure, they could pour Krug on their corn flakes and eat caviar every day if they wanted to but only lottery winners actually behave like that. The super-rich are mostly dedicated industrious folk who believe totally in the work ethic and spend their lives networking with like minded individuals in order to further boost their bank accounts. One of the perils of being rich is that you are expected to hang out with other rich people, partly to compare assets but mainly because hanging out with anyone else is regarded as a frivolous waste of opportunity. So while the pursuit of wealth is easily measurable the pursuit of pleasure is not. We don’t know what will give us pleasure until we experience it.
I have been writing about pleasurable experiences for some time now in the sincere belief that I might win over a few converts and inspire my readers to enjoy the good things in life. On their behalf I have eaten in fine restaurants, driven impossibly luxurious cars and travelled down the sharp end of aircraft to exotic locations simply to report on the experience and offer some vicarious pleasure. It’s not a job everyone can do. Unless you have pledged your life to the pursuit of pleasure you are ill equipped to judge whether the foie gras you’re eating is sublime or just very, very good.
As you can see, I take my job seriously. Which is why I am sad to hear mutterings that I am regarded as elitist and totally unsuitable for the new South Africa. The previously disadvantaged who now form our growing readership can’t afford these things and all we are doing by writing about them is alienating their loyalty as readers—.or so the theory goes. I take a different view. I don’t believe people read newspapers for the news. You can hear the news on the hour on most radio stations. They read newspapers to be entertained, educated, enthralled, amused, titillated and tantalised by tales of good living. Most people aspire to a better life and enjoy reading about things they cannot possibly afford. I haven’t cancelled my subscription to Vanity Fair simply because I can’t buy my own yacht. Guessing what readers want in their newspaper is no easy task but arbitrarily deciding what to give them is a recipe for potential disaster, particularly for a product that relies on advertising for survival. Never underestimate the intelligence of the reader.