The topic of does money buy happiness is complicated one and the answer will depend on the individual. This is because for most of us money will mean something different and so will happiness, as our vision of what is happiness is different. Some people will look at the things that money can do for us in terms of basic needs such as buying food and paying bills and say no money does not buy happiness as they don't feel the need to have materialistic items to be happy that other people might need. This will mean that it is not possible to come up with a definitive answer to this question as everyone's opinion will be different.
Lots of people would argue that yes money does buy happiness as having money allows you to do lots of things such as go on holiday, go to the cinema, go for dinner etc. all of which can bring the individual doing them the feeling of happiness. This argument is one which I would agree with to a certain extent as in my opinion having lots of money would bring me a degree of happiness as there wouldn't be a worry of not affording expenses as well as allowing me to do the things I like as i can afford them. On the other hand there is a part of me that sees the other side of the argument as money is a part of society that you need to survive as those who don't have lots tend to be jealous of those who have more than them. This can bring unhappiness to the people who have less as well as this, those who do have more money can also be jealous of the people who have more than them. This cycle of always wanting what someone else has can bring unhappiness to those who have lots of money which could say that money does not buy happiness.
There is the side of the argument that you do not need money to be happy as there are many more important parts of life than money to bring happiness. This is also something that I agree with as I don't think that money should be the thing that determines people's happiness but it certainly helps. There are some people who would argue that feeling loved and appreciated and working in a job that you enjoy not just for the money is the most important way to feel happy. Then again this comes back to the argument that everyone's opinion on what is happiness is different.
I believe that there two types of happiness, which are long term and short term, they can be achieved through different things. An example for short term happiness could be buying a new item of clothing or a new car, something which is exciting and fun when the purchase is made but will not keep giving you that feeling for the whole time that you have it. For long term happiness the way that this is achieved in my opinion is through something more significant could be marrying the one you love, the birth of a child. The event that happens to cause this long term happiness is more life changing than buying a car or clothing item. These different types of happiness can have a large effect on the view of does money buy happiness as to an extent it can but would be more likely that money would buy you some short term happiness which wouldn't necessarily last that long.
I think that this question does not have a clear yes or no answer as having lots of money will only bring you a certain amount of happiness as there are things that no amount of money can do to make you happy. As well as having money there are things that we need to be happy which can't be achieved through buying it, these are things such as love and family as there is no guarantee that these will happen with lots of money. Having a lot of money can definitely help you to get closer to happiness but I feel that with lots of money the parameters of what will make you happy constantly get larger as the amount of stuff that you can afford gets bigger too. the temptation to buy these things will grow when you can afford therefore meaning you constantly want the next best thing which does not provide long term happiness.
Comments