Happiness and Money

Does money buy happiness? No! Ah, but would a little more money make us a little happier? Many of us smirk and nod. There is, we believe, some connection between fiscal fitness and feeling fantastic. Most of us would say that, yes, we would like to be rich. Three in four American collegians now consider it “very important” or “essential” that they become “very well off financially”. Money matters.

幸福是否可以用金錢購買？不可能！但是不是錢多一點我們就會更開心一點呢？對此，大多數人一定微笑贊同。我們相信，收入的富足與舒適的生活感受之間有著某種聯系。幾乎所有人都會說，是的，我希望變得富有。而目前有四分之三的美國大學生都認為，過上“十分富裕”的生活是“非常重要”和“必不可少”的。錢的作用的確不小。

Well, are rich people happier? Researchers have found that in poor countries, being relatively well off does make for greater well-being. We need food, rest, shelter and social contact. But a surprising fact of life is that in countries where nearly everyone can afford life’s necessities, increasing affluence matters surprisingly little. The correlation between income and happiness is “surprisingly weak”. Once comfortable, more money provides diminishing returns. The second piece of pie, or the second $100,000, never tastes as good as the first. Even lottery winners and the Forbes’ 100 wealthiest Americans have expressed only slightly greater happiness than the average American. Making it big brings temporary joy. But in the long run, wealth is like health: its utter absence can breed misery, but having it doesn’t guarantee happiness.

但是，富人就一定更快樂嗎？研究人員發現，在一些貧窮的國家，相對而言比較富裕確實會使人過得更幸福一些。我們需要食物、住所、休息和社會關系。然而，人們驚訝地發現，在那些幾乎所有人都衣食無憂的國家里，財富的增加所產生的效果微乎其微。收入與幸福之間的關聯“驚人得微弱”。一旦生活舒適，錢所帶來的收益 便呈現遞減趨勢。得到的第二筆十萬美元就像吃到的第二只派，嘗起來永遠都不如第一只那么美味。即使那些彩票得主和福布斯排名前一百的富人們也并沒有比一般 的美國人更開心多少。飛黃騰達只能帶來暫時的喜悅。從長遠來說，財富就像健康一樣，失去它的人定會感到不幸，而擁有它的人卻未必一定幸福。