Happiness or Money?
In 2006 Richard Layard, an economist at the London School of Economics, argued that unhappiness was a bigger social problem in Britain than unemployment. Lord Layard pointed out that more people were ___ 31 ___ incapacity benefits because of depression and other mental disorders than were on the dole.
The subsequent recession fixed that. The jobless now outnumber the joyless – there is nothing like a drop in gross domestic product (GDP) to remind everyone how much this much-maligned metric matters. But ___ 32 ___ the economic gloom, economists and policymakers have not lost their interest in happiness. But is happiness, in fact, the right goal for government?
Happiness, of course, makes an appearance in America’s founding documents. But the Declaration of Independence does not say that government should pursue the happiness of its citizens, only that it should ___ 33 ___ its citizens’ unalienable right to pursue it for themselves.
If people do not know what will make them happy, governments might helpfully tell them what might. If people know what is best for them, but lack the self-discipline to choose it, some governments might also be tempted to nudge them in the right direction.
But sometimes people have the knowledge and the self-command to choose happiness, and they ___ 34 ___ fail to do so. Thus, in a recent study, about 70% of people said they would be happier earning less money and sleeping more. These and similar findings support the notion that money isn’t everything. But ask people what they would actually choose, as opposed to what would make them happy, and their answers can sometimes surprise: 17% of those who say they would be happier sleeping for longer and earning less also say they would still choose the ___ 35 ___ job.
Money may not buy happiness. But why take the chance?
The Economist