Can money buy happiness?
Posted on August 27, 2008 by Chelsea Wieber
Topics: Economic Development
So happy. Photo: Joy Portella/Mercy Corps
On average, people are happier now than they were 25 years ago, according to the most recent World Values Survey. The study attributes the increase in happiness to economic prosperity, democracy and social liberalization.
Money can't buy happiness? Or can it ... just a little?
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Look at Maslow
It's a cliched phrase, and one that we might all like to pretend isn't true, but it would seem that money can lead to contentedness, if not happiness.
Everyone has heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, in which he illustrates the needs that have to be filled in order to reach the top of the pyramid, "Self Actualization." At the very bottom of the needs pyramid are hunger and thirst, the most basic necessities that humans beings require for survival, and without which, we are unable to satisfy anything further.
When people do not have the economic capacity to satisfy these physiological needs, it makes it more difficult to attain higher levels of "happiness," including (in order) safety needs like security, law and stability; belongingness and love needs: family, affection and relationships; esteem needs: achievement, status and responsibility; and eventually, self-actualization: personal growth and fulfillment.
It would be unwise to generalize about all populations whose individuals cannot fulfill these basic needs, but it's certainly a pertinent observation that people who are more prosperous and socially liberated are better able to attain these higher levels of the pyramid, and in turn, find happiness.
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