I have written several articles about happiness, looking at various factors that can make you happy. Or happier. Or less miserable. What about the thing everyone wants, that we all hope will make us happy: money?
You might expect me to take the view of many Christians, among others, that money cannot buy happiness. Did not Jesus say, ‘money is the root of all evil’ and all that? Well, no! He said,’The love of money is the root of all evil’ which is about our attitudes not our wealth.
The scientific research on this subject is interesting. It shows that poverty reduces happiness. A lot. There is some disagreement as to whether this should mean absolute or relative poverty. I think that at the extreme it is absolute. In other words, being cold, hungry and afraid will make you unhappy even if you are a bit better off than your neighbours. However, being adequately fed, clothed and housed may not be enough if you are being constantly reminded of the lifestyles of the very rich. The media and social media have a lot to answer for. So does the advertising industry.
Another thing the research has shown is that as wealth increases beyond a certain point, happiness does not. Your second million does not make you twice as happy as the first. People keep on chasing money out of a desire to succeed rather than because they actually want to buy more things.
What I am saying is that money is not everything. But it is something.