Ilyas Abukar

UWRT 1103
Mrs. Thomas
14 April 2016
Thesis: Can Money Buy Happiness?
What makes you happy? Often times when posed with this question people respond with
something along the lines of extreme wealth and/or an abundance of materialistic items. These
responses show the mind state of individuals in regards to their happiness. However, does
extreme wealth and/or an abundance of materialistic items really lead to happiness; or is it the
mind state that society has pressured us into? There are people who gain wealth and search for
happiness within it and never do find it, as money does not satisfy their need for love and
happiness. On the other hand, there are people who gain wealth and feel at ease and happy with
themselves, as they now live very comfortably with the money they used to dream of. Money
impacts people differently, depending on the pedestal each person puts it on.
Confucius described a man who, though living in a mean, narrow street with only a
single bamboo dish to eat from, did not allow his joy to be affected. " (Money Cant) This quote
-- from an article out of the magazine The Economist -- really stuck out to me because it shows
how there are people in this world who are dirt poor and are still very happy with where they are
in life. However, if this man were to become rich overnight, how would his level of happiness
change? It is possible that this man could be equally happy with his newfound wealth and just
upgrade his living conditions; however, it is also possible that the money could affect him
negatively and lead to things such as depression and addictions. Often times individuals who are
happy and content with living in very poor conditions do not let the money negatively affect

them if they are to become wealth; as they understand that money does not dictate their
happiness.
When researching this topic I came across a book -- Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries
of Psychological Wealth -- that really opened my eyes to the idea of psychological wealth.
This book, written by Ed Diener and his son Robert Biswas-Diener, speaks on how wealth is of
the mind and not the pocket. Ed Diener is a professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois,
and with the help of his son Robert Biswas-Diener, he has become specialized in the science of
happiness. The authors speak on the idea that monetary wealth only leads to an individual's
demise if they are not psychologically wealthy. The authors emphasizes this point by
incorporating the story of the Greek legend Midas, who wished that everything he touched would
become gold. When granted his wish, however, Midas saw his wish as a blessing and a curse. He
turned his food and eventually his daughter to gold, and begged Dionysus to have his power
removed, and his wish was accepted. The moral of the story is that the pursuit of material riches
is not worthwhile if it means giving up relationships, suffering ill health, or being spiritually
bankrupt. (Diener, 5) This story reiterates the fact that although monetary wealth is a great
possession to have, it also has a hidden cost which can affect you negatively in all aspects of life
if you do not have the appropriate mind state.
Throughout the world the majority of people are taught to look for money first in terms of
what type of occupation they want to partake in. However, there are also people in the world who
look for a career in something that they enjoy and the money is an afterthought. When I think
think of this I often think of rappers and ballplayers as they often are either really passionate
about what they are doing or are just in it because they know they can make a lot of money doing
it. A rapper out of New York by the name of Joey Bada$$ really speaks on this in a song called

Paper Trail$ where he says: ...They say money is the root of all evil, I see money as the route of
all people.... This lyric really shows how people do chase after money even though there is a
stigma that it is the root of evil. This leads to the question: why do people chase wealth if it is the
root of all evil? It really comes down to the fact that they believe that money can help them live
better lives. In this same song Joey states before the money it was love, but before the money it
was tough, then came the money through a plug, its a shame this aint enough which really
shows how he went from broke to wealthy and through this journey he found that money is not
everything and that it does not make him happy.
Another musical artist by the name of J. Cole also touches on this subject in his music. In
a song called Love Yourz he explains how ...you aint never gon be happy til you love yours or
love the situation you are in and be happy with yourself. The official video of the song Love
Yourz shows how happiness is gained by loving who you are, the people around you, and the
situation you are in. The video is mainly focused Coles performance in his hometown of
Fayetteville, NC. However it breaks off into many different scenes where the people seem to
smiling, laughing, and showing other signs of happiness. The song in itself is heavily influenced
by the pursuit of happiness. Cole made this song after going to Hollywood and noticing he was
not happy, as he felt that was fake happiness. In the song he explains how you have to love what
you have and be grateful for it. He states ...there's beauty in the struggle, ugliness in the
success this quote is one of my favorite lines in the song as he is basically saying there is good
and bad in everything depending on the way you look at it. Another one of my favorite quotes
from the song is for whats money without happiness? Or hard times without the people you
love which shows that money is nothing without happiness as money cannot fill that void.

America is built on the concept of the American dream, which promotes the acquisition
of money and all of the things that one can buy with it. This mindset is the reason why often
times people view the acquisition of wealth as the most important thing in the world. However,
there are many cases in which wealth is shown to not lead to happiness. For example, there are
people in the world who are extremely poor, however, those same people are also very happy.
These people are content with just scraping by with just enough, as they dont care about
materialistic things. To these people money holds very little weight. You can argue that these
people do not have money so they dont understand how it will affect their lives once they
acquire it. However, how you view money is all based on your mindset, and I doubt that the
mindset of these people will change due to the very thing they view as holding little weight.
On the contrary, those who are extremely wealthy show that wealth is not the key to
happiness. An example being famous actors or musicians who were very wealthy and yet ended
up committing suicide or picking up heavy drug habits. One of the most famous examples being
singer Whitney Houston, who battled addictions throughout her career and eventually drowned
in her bathtub. Another more recent example was the actor Robin Williams, who committed
suicide in August of 2014. These examples show that happiness is not directly linked with
wealth, as their wealth did not help them out of the terrible situations they were in.
You can argue that the outside circumstances of these wealthy people caused them to go
through these battles with addiction and even commit suicide. However, this leads to the
question: if money can buy happiness, then why couldnt it buy them out of their misery? If
money can buy happiness, then these rich and wealthy people should be able to buy their way out
of the unhappy life they were in. J. Cole has a song called Cost Me A Lot in which he says Now
I dont love no material things, but Im in love with the feelings they bring which shows that

everyone is excited once they buy something new, however, most of the time that feeling is
temporary. You are constantly buying the next thing and never sit back to enjoy what you have
and be grateful and content with it. Being extremely wealthy only takes this to another level, as
you now have the means to purchase all of the things you ever wanted. However, these material
things only bring temporary happiness.
The movie The Pursuit of Happiness is a great example of a typical American trying to
make something of himself while chasing the American Dream. This movie, starring Will
Smith as the lead character, brings up many key points of the can money buy happiness?
argument. In the movie, Chris Gardner -- played by Will Smith -- is a struggling entrepreneur, as
he goes through many hardships while trying to make a better life for himself and his son. This is
an interesting point because when posed with the question of why are you chasing money?
people often times will respond with something along the lines of trying to provide a better life
for either themselves and/or their families.
Wealth and the acquisition of money affects people differently. While some people
acquire wealth after years of being broke, they use it as an opportunity to purchase all of the
things they never had and live the life they used to dream of. To these people money is the most
important thing as they use it to cope with the fact that they had to struggle throughout their life.
However, as the saying goes, more money does lead to more problems. This is especially true for
the people who have the mindset that wealth can solve all of their problems in life and make
them eternally happy. On the other hand, there are people who also grew up broke, and
through that process have learned to appreciate what they have and humble themselves. As these
people gain wealth, they understand that money might change their scenery, such as their living
conditions, but they will not let it change them as a person. These people understand that money

is a bonus to the life that they have, as wealth may lead to temporary happiness but true
happiness comes from within.
In terms of happiness, being financially stable is always a bonus. Money can definitely
enhance your life, although it can also hurt you as well. However, if you are psychologically
wealthy, the money will never affect you negatively. In terms of the original question -- can
money buy happiness? -- there is no clear right or wrong answer. Depending on how you view
money and how much you allow it to influence your life, money will only be able to control your
life as much as you allow it to. Sure, being happy is a lot easier when there is no need to worry
about financial problems, however, there are people in societies around the world who are
extremely happy with getting just enough food to survive until the next day. This puts the weight
of moneys link to happiness in perspective as it all depends on the person. By and large, money
can buy happiness to a certain extent, although true happiness comes from within.

Works Cited
"Money Can't Buy Me Love; Happiness and Wealth." E-Journals A-Z - J. Murrey Atkins Library
- UNC Charlotte. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2016.
Diener, Ed, and Robert Biswas-Diener. "Psychological Wealth: The Balanced Portfolio."
Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub.,
2008. 1-12. Print.
J. Cole - Love Yourz. Dir. JColeVEVO. Perf. J. Cole. YouTube. YouTube, 28 Jan. 2016. Web. 27
Mar. 2016.