# Money and happiness

- Link: https://www.andreidraganescu.info/2017/04/16/money-and-happiness/
- Published: 2017-04-16T18:05:34+03:00
- Author: Andrei Draganescu

> In as much as I agree with a majority of what yu said, I feel I should also add
> something in line with the subject.

Awesome! 🙂 Shoot.

> I too have heard the expession money does not buy happiness countless times and
> I too agree that money does buy freedom and freedom to a degree constitutes “happiness”.

Not really. There is no natural connection from freedom to happiness, in _no _degree.
They are two completely separate things, and the only thing is one is _more likely,
because of biology, _to be happy in a state of freedom. It’s maybe a correlation,
but that’s all.

> With that said, it did not make sense to me that every rich guy should utter the
> message in one way or another.

They should because they are rich and that means they have the time to utter such
messages _instead _of the other message 🙂 That means, you either help or STFU, 
amirite? Why bother otherwise?

If you are _not _rich, sour grapes and all, you may shout that being rich is not
that great, there is no ethical burden here. “Not rich”, not poor. If you’re poor,
you must survive instead of living, which kinda sucks.

> It’s not like they formed a club (I’m not sure though, they might have one) and
> decided, heck let’s tell this people that being wealthy is not all that.

Everyone is in a club. There is a natural conspiracy phenomenon where people collude
in groups based on opinions and mentalities and then defend their mutual interest.

However, in this case, the club is not strongly formed. It is though the club of
the not helping rich philosophers. They don’t know each other but like all humans
they will smile and nod at the opinion of the others like themselves.

It is way more common for this message to trickle down from the circles of the wealthy
than _any other_ message. From tech billionaires to Hollywood stars to trade stars,
they write, speak and advise that money is not really important, all while flying
their private jets.

> The thing I have come to discover with money is not so much as making it, but 
> rather managing it.

It depends. Spending money rationally is not really management. Management is when
you empower your money to produce more wealth. That is simply another activity, 
just like any other. It may be a hobby, a part time occupation, a full time occupation,
a passion, an obsession or an addiction. Only at the later stages it actually is
a problem.

> And secondly, one which resonates with the subject here is: unless you can be 
> content with the progress you have made so far, and that you enjoy the process
> to accumulating weatlh- getting to that point of being rich won’t help really.
> You’ll still be miserable, the only difference is you’ll be miserable and wealthy…
> something I presume is far worse.

The process of wealth accumulation is not really experienced. Success and failure
are experienced. Wealth accumulation is an observable, if it happens it is positive,
reinforcing feedback.

It is not worse to be miserable and wealthy, it is better, simply because if you
manage to crawl out of your misery there is a soft cushion of wealth to lay on, 
_and you know it_. The not rich know there is nothing welcoming outside of their
sunken soul. The poor cannot even become miserable, because they have to survive
and surviving is a miserable experience overall.

> Happiness begins from withing, and much like what DHH said..should not be pegged
> on materialism

Well, maybe. I believe happiness is extremely particular. Happiness is when you 
do the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, with the right people
etc.

There is happiness rooted in materialism.

“Should” is not allowed anywhere near happiness, because that is what makes dominant
culture be dominant: asserting their recipe,

> To get A people should B, only if they would C. Bleh.