Does money make people happy

[Estro Felino]

Guys, would you please vote too? Thank you.

 

[Bunyip]

You didn't read my explanation below the poll. I didn't talk about extreme poverty. I talked about owning the money necessary for survival.
That is you live decently, but you don't save any money

If you live decently and have enough money for survival but not saving, then you are relatively wealthy by global standards.

 

[Estro Felino]

Preaching to the choir. I'm a revolutionary anti-capitalist. I'm just not into the shaming of poor people for daring to want more than just being poor and resenting the rich over it.

Well, rich people are not to admire. Given that they are the cause of inequality. Unfortunately money is not inexhaustible. Money is printed according to the amount of resources a nation can produce (GDP).
The issue is that the rich have the chances and the means to put their hands on this money before the others have the chance to earn it with their work

 

[chinu]

It can buy you the medical care needed. Lol.

Am not talking about medical care am talking about body organs which one lost in any accident. And there isn't any such medical treatment which can give back body organs.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Am not talking about medical care am talking about body organs which one lost in any accident. And there isn't any such medical treatment which can give back body organs.

Which organs are you talking about? If you've lost vital organs, you're dead so the question makes no sense. If you've lost limbs, those can be replaced.

 

[Sleeppy]

Having what I need, and being able to provide that for others, makes me happy.. I hate knowing people are starving, and without shelter. I hate when those who have little are taken advantage of. I hate when people are forced to slave, most or all of their day, while neglecting their families and their own creativity.

 

[Glaurung]

Everybody criticizes the Orwell's Big Brother model. But unfortunately it is necessary. A Big Brother has to prevent the rich from becoming richer at cost of the lower classes' poverty

Have you actually read 1984?

Personally, I don't seek happiness for its own sake. I seek to learn equanimity in all circumstances from which happiness follows.

Nonetheless, it's better to be rich and unhappy, than unhappy and poor.

 

[ScuzManiac]

Not necessarily...

But lack of money certainly never helps.

 

[bobhikes]

Would have voted other but its not there

A large or new increase of money will make you happy in the short term. When you realize you are losing it or you get adjusted to having it you will no longer have the happiness boost and may indeed become more unhappy than before you had it. Losing something or the thought of losing something is much worse than never getting it.

 

[Revoltingest]

Money is love....
[youtube]sor9GzivGbk[/youtube]
The Money Song - Monty Python's The Flying Circus - YouTube

 

[dawny0826]

By money I don't mean the money necessary for survival in a developed country. By money I mean huge amount of money. More than 500 dollars\euros per week.

My question is: does owning lots of money make people happy?
By people I mean you, not the others

I have no clue, as I've never been one with an abundance of excess.

Given my reality and world view, I'm inclined to say that having "a lot" of money would have its advantages. I'm not sure that I would be happy unless I utilized it to do something positive that reaped fruit.

Money can't replace family, connection and love. I value these above the material.

 

[Vinayaka]

By money I mean huge amount of money. More than 500 dollars\euros per week.

You actually think 500 dollars a week is a huge amount of money? That's probably about the average American's salary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

You didn't read my explanation below the poll. I didn't talk about extreme poverty. I talked about owning the money necessary for survival.
That is you live decently, but you don't save any money

IOW, your lack of money doesn't make you unhappy every day, only when unexpected expenses come up.

... or when you want to retire.

 

[Estro Felino]

IOW, your lack of money doesn't make you unhappy every day, only when unexpected expenses come up.

... or when you want to retire.

Thats what saving money is for. For facing unexpected expenses.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Thats what saving money is for. For facing unexpected expenses.

Yes, and you were talking about people who don't save any money, remember?

 

[Runewolf1973]

Having lots of money would definitely relieve the stress associated with financial burden. That is one of the biggest reasons for unhappiness...stress. It wouldn't necessarily make someone happy, but it would definitely put them in a better state.

 

[Koldo]

By money I don't mean the money necessary for survival in a developed country. By money I mean huge amount of money. More than 500 dollars\euros per week.

My question is: does owning lots of money make people happy?
By people I mean you, not the others

I don't believe in happiness. I believe in happy moments. Money can buy happy moments. ( Not all kinds of happy moments though, of course )

 

[Mycroft]

Money can't make you happy. Nor can it buy you love. But it can buy you a better class of enemies.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Money is becoming the basic need for human life. It is a gateway to all of the others.

Consumerism is the fastest growing religion.
Money is the most worshipped God.
Black Friday is the most holy of holidays...

I'd say something Tyler Durden would say, but then I'd look beyond the screen and think "Laptop... about 200 dollars. Chair... about 10 dollars." Everything is made from money, and while I'd like to believe that getting away from it would be the greatest detachment, it'd contradict why I have a job. The philosophy has influenced me some though - it got me out of school and skipping GED classes, and that's probably as far as the philosophy would ever get me.

 

[misanthropic_clown]

To put it succinctly - money is empowering. It provides opportunities that simply don't exist to people without it. For example, my boyfriend wants to pursue Master's/PhD level study in his field, but can't secure the money necessary to do so, though we are trying to cobble together enough to put him through part time. Having the money to do that without having to essentially devote all of our disposable income to it would make us both incredibly happy.

There are some people who pursue wealth for the sake of wealth, rather than the things it can provide. That kind of thinking is bound to end badly, because if happiness is directly proportionate to wealth I'm inclined to think you will always want more and never be satisfied. However, the pursuit of/desire for wealth to achieve other goals and ambitions seems perfectly fine to me.