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There seem to be three inter-connected things that lead to happiness: > One could draw a snap judgment from this analysis and conclude that money, in fact, sim

There seem to be three inter-connected things that lead to happiness: > One could draw a snap judgment from this analysis and conclude that money, in fact, simply buys happiness. I think that would be the wrong conclusion. Clever sociologists will always find new ways of “calculating” that marriage matters most, or social fitness explains all, or income is paramount. But the subtler truth seems to be that finances, family, and social fitness are three prongs in a happiness trinity. They rise together and fall together. Low-income Americans have seen the largest declines in marriage and experience the most loneliness. High-income Americans marry more and have not only richer investment accounts but also richer social lives. In this light, the philosophical question of what contributes most to happiness is just the beginning. The deeper question is why the trinity of happiness is so stratified by income—and whether well-being in America is in danger of becoming a luxury good. * https://archive.ph/4ofJ6 https://archive.ph/4ofJ6 / https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/happiness-marriage-money-satisfaction/678185/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/happiness-...

fellowniusmonk 2y ago
So it's wealth, and as wealth increases so does the opportunity for self actualization internally (fitness, etc.) and externally (relationships.) Our entire society is structured around wealth/money being the single transferable / unit of exchange for time, freedom, self actualization, property, security, healthcare outcome stratification, etc. So the whole damn thing is explicitly structured as money being the proxy unit for all the things we want and like. So it's obvious that most of the signal will be there. The one thing that can never be removed from these equation is wealth. Be wealthy and surround yourself with other wealthy people for X tranche of wealth. Everything else is just obfuscation. While there may be other factors and humans are a messy biological lot so "non normative" individuals certainly exist but there is only one BIG signal that never goes away.
linearrust 2y ago
> But the subtler truth seems to be that finances, family, and social fitness are three prongs in a happiness trinity. They rise together and fall together. I don't think all three necessarily rise and fall together. You can be filthy rich and have a terrible family or social life. I think the 'subtler truth' is that financial stress harms family and social life and you could argue financial stress is the biggest thief when it comes to happiness. Assuming 'finances, family and social fitness' are the three prongs of happiness trinity.
- musicale 2y ago
  It isn't just low-paying jobs that encourage you to trade your social and family life for money.

fellowniusmonk 2y ago

So it's wealth, and as wealth increases so does the opportunity for self actualization internally (fitness, etc.) and externally (relationships.) Our entire society is structured around wealth/money being the single transferable / unit of exchange for time, freedom, self actualization, property, security, healthcare outcome stratification, etc. So the whole damn thing is explicitly structured as money being the proxy unit for all the things we want and like. So it's obvious that most of the signal will be there. The one thing that can never be removed from these equation is wealth. Be wealthy and surround yourself with other wealthy people for X tranche of wealth. Everything else is just obfuscation. While there may be other factors and humans are a messy biological lot so "non normative" individuals certainly exist but there is only one BIG signal that never goes away.

linearrust 2y ago

> But the subtler truth seems to be that finances, family, and social fitness are three prongs in a happiness trinity. They rise together and fall together. I don't think all three necessarily rise and fall together. You can be filthy rich and have a terrible family or social life. I think the 'subtler truth' is that financial stress harms family and social life and you could argue financial stress is the biggest thief when it comes to happiness. Assuming 'finances, family and social fitness' are the three prongs of happiness trinity.

musicale 2y ago
It isn't just low-paying jobs that encourage you to trade your social and family life for money.