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As we approach another week holiday shopping a lot of us are disheartened by increasing commercialism at Christmas. And again we ask: Can money buy happiness?
Well back in 1974 something called the Easterlin Paradox answered this question. It was economist Richard Easterlin who discovered that high incomes are correlated with lots of happiness. But over the long term there’s this point at which increased income doesn’t correlate with increased happiness. This is the paradox.
Just last week Easterlin published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science an update on his famous paper.
Researchers had looked at 37 countries, rich and poor, and found consistent results: over the long term—they took measurements over an average of 22 years—happiness ratings within a country do not increase with income. In Chile, China and South Korea per capita income has doubled is less than two decades yet all showed slight declines in happiness.
Easterlin notes, "We may need to focus policy more directly on urgent personal concerns relating to things such as health and family life, rather than on the mere escalation of material goods."
Food for thought as we swipe our credit card buying yet another iPod, Wii or Lite Brite.
—Christie Nicholson
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15 Comments
Add CommentIt’s puzzling that“happiness” is the taken-for-granted appropriate goal for human activity. After all, a feeling of “happiness” (like all feelings) originates in one’s biology. Seems to me that the pursuit of such feelings will simply result in surrendering one’s life to blind evolutionary dictates. I for one am not so sure this is the best of ideas. Perhaps we should put a little more thought into exactly what it is we are trying to accomplish. www.MindMadeReal.com
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMore Money Doesn't Mean More Happiness?!?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHave you ever heard the expression "Crying all the way to the bank?"
I have been really poor. Now I have money. Happiness is subjective. But I can say with confidence, it is a lot easier to be unhappy when you financial security. This article is X-mas filler. Ba-Hum Bug.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat is right! Our modern world will have to rediscover where the happiness lies. http://jdbapat.blogspot.com
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI can't give the reference, but a study released recently showed that happiness was a function of the equality of the society. People were happiest in countries like Norway and Japan, where there people's incomes and living conditions, such as access to health care and education, were close to equal, and people were least happy in societies where the income gap was most pronounced, like in the U.S.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishappiness is a very subjective matter. what makes one happy might not be for the other. only the inner peace brought about by self acceptance can brought about real sense of happiness..
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi dont believe in collective happiness..if there is such a thing then it could be pronounced in some group or society and not on others..
Money can't buy you happiness, but misery surely can bring you sadness. Who would, in light of this study, give up all their wealth or rather live in medieval times when life was nasty, brutish and short?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSome studies will be done & publicized about the addictive nature of the acquisition of large amounts of money, how it stimulates the same reward circuitry that drugs do. And then it will become an anti-social behaviour to acquire ridiculous amounts of money. We live on a finite planet with way too many of our fellow human beings & there's only so much wealth to go around. When some people are billionaires, millions of people are impoverished. I don't mind people who want to work 80 hours a week having more money than me; I just resent them having all the ****ing money, especially when after a point, it's all just useless icing. They don't need it. They are just addicted to getting it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOf course, I only look forward to the day such research will be done when I'm having a successful day teaching my cat higher mathematics. Yesterday, he told me in no uncertain terms that he was having trouble with counting beyond 4 ... & I thought we were making progress with long division. I guess I'll have to teach him to speak English first... *sigh* And then maybe we can have world peace, too!
Some ancient Greek or Roman philosopher stated that if one's basic needs have been met, increased wealth only slightly increases happiness. You must, however, have these basic needs fulfilled to be happy, he stated. Thus, if your basic housing, food, health,entertainment,clothing,security, educational,transportation, economic, and etc. needs are met, a person will be happy. Increased wealth will only slightly increase happiness, he postulated. Health is the most important of these needs, he postulated. Without good health care and good health, no amount of wealth will make a person happy. The purpose of government, according to the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, was to provide the "good life" for it's citizens. Those nations which provide for these basic needs for their citizens have provided that "good life" which makes them happy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this$ may not buy nor bring happiness though it will get me an upscale escort & Lambo ...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMaybe momey could bring happiness, especially when you make a change from poor to rich. But it won't exist for a long time i think, just several days or months. And after that, people will come back to a normal life.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHey, the secret is the Pursuit of Happiness. Happiness cannot be bought or given. Happiness is the result of the active pursuit. Chase to gain the first million and you are really happy. But then the next 10 million is the chase. A mere million does not mean much and after then even money is not the driver. Money is nice since it lets you buy stuff without the worry. Maslov said it best: first is survival, then material, then self-actualization. It takes money to self actualize (or a vow of poverty). I'll take the money route any time.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut most people who write that more money does not buy more happiness really just want to tax you more and take it from you. Charity is quite different from a tax where the government takes my money and gives my money to ‘poor’ people. Real charity affects both giver and receiver in very positive ways while a tax and benefit corrupts the receiver and brings unhappiness to the giver. Do you feel happy writing your income tax check? Do you feel happy giving a check to the food bank or to a disabled vet? Big difference.
What I have discovered is that all desires corrupt. When I become dependent on what others say about me or even to me for my own well being or peace of mind, I'm screwed, because I've attached myself to a person or persons over whom I have no control.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhen I turn to money or any outside "thing" (sex, relationships, property, balloon animals, pony rides) in order to fill a need within me; in order to be "happy" I am screwed, because I have shackled myself to my current idea of happiness, and since that is always changing, I will never be satisfied.
True fulfillment for me comes from wanting what I have.
When I manage to remain in that state for even just a little while, I come to know what real happiness is.
But we still don't have a flat screen TV, dammit......
5#@heavyrunner.Were you thinking of the new edition of "The Spirit Level" by Wilkinson and Pickett? See this website for information about the research on which this book is based: http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is my opinion that wealthy societies create situations where necessitate excess. I mean, how many cities can you live in America where it would not be necessary to own a car? Soon it will be very difficult to get by without a computer or access to the net. If you have to spend every waking hour trying to make more money, to fulfill more and more "needs" there is no for the other things that bring happiness. I also think any kind of lasting happiness cannot come from one source. Whatever the sources are, there has to be room for them all.
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