717 replies to this topic

[KHRS]

Of course it can! Money can buy anything, even love, if you use it right. that doesn't mean "BUY JENNIFER A 478435894893488043 THOUSAND DOLLAR RING!" But by providing you with the things you need to impress someone. Only people who say it can't are spoiled or stupid.

[mouse]

KHRS has a point - money can certainly make it easier for someone to be happy, more so than having no money at all. As long as one keeps in mind that money is a means to happiness rather than an end, the happiness itself, life can be fulfilling. If someone is just accumulating money for the sake of having lots of money, with no intention of using it to better his or her or anyone else's lives, though, he or she can lose sight of what's important.

[T. Yoshisaur Munchakoopas]

What KHRS and maus said.You will NEVER see a happy bum. EVER. Unless he's doped up on something. Its a fact, deal with it. So, yes. Money does buy happiness. Not directly, obviously, but it opens doors for you that could not be opened otherwise.

[mouse]

So ignorance is bliss, eh? That kind of reminds me of the argument that someone cannot be happy and knowledgeable about the world around him or her at the same time. It's like, the more you know about what money can get you, the more unhappy you are when you don't have enough, right?Or maybe it's an issue of whether or not you have the mindset that you need things to be happy. Then we could get into the whole issue of consumerism giving rise to wants that manifest into artificial needs - you need a car, you need a media player, you need a computer, when in actuality you could get by with none of those things, but then you would feel that you are at a disadvantage, that you are impoverished compared to the common man who has all these things and more. From that perspective, if we were to ask whether money can buy happiness, it would depend on the individual, maybe? The Henry David Thoreaus of the world are happy to live a simple life in a cottage they built at minimum cost, living off the land and basking in the glow of the setting sun beside a pond with a nice book. But the rich CEO - or the lowly temp who aspires to have his position some day - needs a fast car, expensive champagne, a ritzy condo and all the newest, shiniest gadgets. These are exaggerated models, of course, but the idea is the same.

[Mo­lh.]

I would normally agree with Calvin, rather than maus. In my personal experience happiness and contentment, while not being one and the same, frequently go hand-in-hand. However I do not believe I am experienced enough in people and personality types to lay this down in concrete. Perhaps there are people who require a certain level of material goods in order to be happy. Perhaps they do become genuinely quite happy, rather than increasingly needy, upon the acquisition of such goods. Maybe the aspiration of such things (and their achievement) in itself is the catalyst for happiness, rather than the goods themselves. Man often needs aims to be satisfied, and these provide decent ambitions with which to occupy lives with. Despite these I would personally rather stay away from the "rat race" than get caught into it.