The article, “Can Money Buy Happiness?” by Arthur C. Brooks, goes on to talk about the hapless end of a lottery winner and questions if money is the key to happiness. It goes on to provide statistical data to prove that the average income of citizens in America has increased over the years, but the percentage of happy people has remained the same. The author draws the example of Russia, where post-Soviet accumulation of money in some hands led to others’ unhappiness.
The article further describes how adaptation takes away the happiness which one gets from something. In stark contrast to the opinion expressed in the first part of the article, the author opines that richer individuals tend to be happy than the poor. People feel happy with money because they find themselves to be in more possession of it than others. Thus, this happiness comes from comparison to others and perceived supremacy in this regard. The author says that a person on finding success would be thirsty for more success and hence would keep on working hard.
The article, “Like a Virgin: The Strange Relation of Money to Happiness”, goes on to delve deep into the issue of happiness. It logically argues whether subjective experience is more worthy in comparison to materialistic possession to fetch the wonderful feeling of happiness to human beings. The nature of adaptation to ambiance and materialistic possessions make the happiness short-lived, while subjective experiences linger in the memory of the people and bring happiness.
The article further claims that scheduling and deferring can be very useful tools for surmounting the amount of happiness which can be experienced from a particular situation. Dunn and Norton suggest “re-virginizing” as a method of being happy. The article further goes on to argue that postponing some pleasurable experience or anticipating it is actually the essence of happiness. Also, an individual feels happier if he or she gives away something to someone else.
The study raises questions about the researchers’ definition of happiness and also the realistic and reliable measures of it. Happiness is seen as plural in the context of the study which is documented in the article. This concept of happiness does not distinguish between the kinds of happiness which can be experienced from different types of activities. The study, however, lacks causation which makes one look into the issue more closely. The researchers have also not delved into the diversified nature of people and have generalized their conclusions. Thus, the claims which have been discussed in the article are controversial as they leave scope for possible refutation and further research.
Works Cited
Brooks, Arthur C. “Can Money Buy Happiness?”
Sunstein, Cass R. “Like a Virgin: The Strange Relation of Money to Happiness”. The New
Republic 2 August 2013. Print.
