The Economics Of Happiness By John Ikerd: Article Analysis

In The Happiness Hypothesis Jonathan Haidt talks about how our brains work and how best to find happiness with the different ways it works. Haidt describes the different ways a positive and negative person’s brain works and how each can find happiness through various and different methods. He also discusses different aspects of society that can affect our level of happiness. All of these things can be considered to find the best way to raise your level of happiness.

Although Americans do look better and feel better with the extravagant items they purchase, money doesn’t buy happiness for long term goals. Like many will argue, like Atlantic senior editor Derek Thompson did in his 2013 article, “Yes, Money Does Buy Happiness: 6 Lessons on the Newest Research on Income and Well-Being,” money can only buy happiness for short term goals; it won’t last very long for everyone and it could lead to worse scenarios when the money is gone. Thompson (2013) included statistics on richer countries that are proven to be happier, explaining, “First, the lines go up. More money, more happiness. Second, the lines go up in parallel, more or less. Across language, culture, religion, ethnic background, the same amount of extra money seems to buy the similar amount of extra happiness.” Thompson (2013) found the same similar pattern in many other countries and concluded that they are more happy than poorer countries. Although poorer countries don’t have as many resources or many things like richer countries do, Seth Borenstein, in his 2017 article for The Independent, “Norway Beats Denmark to be Named the Happiest Country in the World by the UN,” can beg to differ. Borenstein (2017) says, “While most countries were either getting happier or at least treading water, America's happiness score dropped 5 per cent over the past decade” (Borenstein, 2017). That shows that America, one of the richest

Since technology and human development have advanced in exponential ways the last houndred years, the world can easily see how obsessed people have become with material goods. Things like computers, cellphones, televisions and money as well. Now the definition of happiness has changed for many. For some people having money is what makes them happy and it is everything they need. It is the purpose of this paper that people understand how some are not willing to give up on money and cellphones and how important it is to recognize how our world works compared to in the past.

Is it impossible to capture happiness? Modern society would have everyone believe that the more things one acquires, the happier they will be. Taking a critical look at the messages that surround us, it becomes clear that this is nothing more than slick marketing and clever propaganda. Many people believe that it is the materialistic things that make us happy in life but is that really the case? Happiness can not be obtained by the things we have. Many people spend their whole lives chasing happiness and never reach it because they are chasing the wrong this to make them happy. This paper will examine what true happiness really is.

Based on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi “Happiness Revisited” People have many different points of view about how to achieve happiness, it can be based on the type of life one is having, an experience, a way of living, culture, and religion. Happiness can be defined in many ways but happiness is not something we find or get just by magic. In “Happiness Revisited” by Csikszentmihalyi, the author emphasizes that “It is by being fully involved with every detail of our lives, whether good or bad, that we find happiness, not by trying to look for it directly.” And just as he stays that happiness is when someone is involved in everything that happens in live either good or bad, one example that I think Csikszentmihalyi will describe as an optimal experience

Prominent columnist James Surowiecki stated, “Since the 1950s, reports of major depression have increased tenfold, and while much of that increase undoubtedly represents a new willingness to diagnose mental illness, there’s a general consensus among mental-health experts that it also reflects a real development,” in his article “Technology and Happiness.” The occurrence of increased of technology use has resulted in the mental stability of people steadily declining. One can infer that happiness is connected to trust and both have to have a very strong roots in order to feed off each other and make one happy. Another result was that “People are more anxious, trust government and business less, [..] by most standards, then, you’d have to say that Americans are better off now than they were in the middle of the last century. Oddly, though, if you ask Americans how happy they are, you find that they’re no happier than they were in 1946,” (Surowiecki) thus begging the question: is today’s society happy? By extension, one can conclude that present day people are more despondent than

Happiness is a state of existence that Americans have perused since the founding of this great country. It’s such an important part of American life that “The pursuit of Happiness” is even “laid out in our nation’s Declaration of Independence” (McMahon 783). Happiness is something that may come from many aspects of life: one’s children, employment, financial wellbeing, sports, hobbies, and many other things. Ruth Whippman tells us that "Americans as a whole invest more time and money and emotional energy in the explicit pursuit of happiness than any other nation on earth". Are Americans happier today than they were three centuries ago? Does modern technology, social economic status, religious freedoms, and/or the

The author of the article, “You Can Buy Happiness, If It’s An Experience” stated many different ideas and thoughts on happiness. He stated that the anticipation waiting for a trip trumps buying the latest things. He proves multiple studies that show that an experience provides more happiness than the newest iphone. He also states that the build up waiting for a trip is improved due to your imagination. He disproves the saying “money can’t buy you happiness”. I agree with the author, because the points that he makes I have experienced.

After reading your article Happiness and Its Discontents, I have decided to define my own personal happiness and what it means to live a robust life. Living a robust life means something different to every individual as no one person can define happiness or success as a single entity. However, I do think individuals are able to determine their own meaning of contentment by analyzing the different components of their lives. When reading your published work, I could not help but notice how you spent a majority of time discussing the negative effects of happiness. Generally, when an individual thinks of jubilation they correlate it to positive events, but you seemed to gloomily depict happiness as an emotion that yields despair, thinking happiness is a forced emotion which must keep societal standards. You mention if people have mental health concerns, such as anxiety, in order for them to live a robust life they must create and display a pseudo personality to

According to Csikszentmihalyi, the problem with happiness exists in affluent countries today because people are living in much richer conditions and living longer, but still people are not satisfied with all the improvements in material wealth because they are always wanting more. The indirect evidence comes from the national statistics of social pathology that gives evidence showing that violent crimes, family breakdown, and psychosomatic complaints have increased. The direct evidence comes from the studies of happiness that psychologists and other social scientists have started to pursue thru surveys about the relationship between material objects and subjective well-being. The evidence showed that having more money to spend does not bring

In today’s materialistic world, the phrase that ‘money can’t buy happiness’ is tending to be proved hence otherwise. Social research and surveys have shown results based on an individuals income, health and the political scenario which is dominant in his or her region. It is quite obvious that the gap between the privileged and the not so is growing into a great divide giving rise to different class and status, thus defining ones social circle. It should therefore be understood how an individuals economic status affects their personal happiness throughout all aspects of life. Many tend to refer to this age-old quote especially when they tend to belong to sector of people who can’t afford the modern day luxuries of life. What they do not

In the book “Money can buy Happiness” tells about spending money on important and substantial things that bring us long lasting happiness. It provide some helpful information and tips which can be applied in our daily living. If you want to find out how to put together the most of your money in order to get a good and happy life (good return on investment). This book also creates awareness of how we spend our money, investments and savings wisely. For those who wants to analyze whether their spending habits align with their values, this book can be an eye opener for them.

Dictionary.com defines economics as “the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind”. With that definition and the common sense knowledge that a healthy economy equals growth of a nation, we might assume that also means happiness, but that is not usually the case. Most people have grown up thinking the ideal life will be one of excess and consumption. That attaining more in life such as financial wealth and belongings will bring the status and happiness a lot of people seek from an early age, and where do we get that idea? Is it from our parents? Our friends? Or our government?

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness? Today, the argument can be made that happiness and consumerism are directly linked. It is fair to say that happiness is a relative term for different people. However, the obtaining of new and shiny things has become such a part of everyday life, that it provides happiness when people are purchasing something new, and causes sadness when no buying is taking place. For many, it seems to be a protective coating against the harsh realities of everyday stresses from a job, or family life.

When you hear the word happiness, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Do you think of material possessions like designer clothes and accessories, the newest iPhone with the highest possible storage capacity, or a shiny red supercar? Do you think the amount of money you have or your current financial status has an effect on how happy you are? Plenty of college students, myself included, would associate happiness with possessing items like these or just having a lot of money in general. In today’s society, one common belief about social class is that the richer and more money or things that one has, the happier this will make them. This belief is reinforced by countless advertisements we see and hear everywhere, whether that be on