This is a very interesting topic because \u2018happiness\u2019 is one of the most subjective things in the world. What makes you happy might not necessarily make me happy.<\/p>\n
One thing that is certain, however, is that, in countries with capitalist political economies, the goal of every man, woman and child is to spend their lives trying to make money. From a young age, we go to school with the purpose of getting good grades so we can get into a good university. We go to university so we can get a good degree that will land us a good job that pays a high salary. It\u2019s not so outlandish<\/b> to say that our purpose for living is to get money.<\/p>\n
Therefore, if our purpose for living is to make money, doesn\u2019t that mean attaining<\/b> it is guaranteed to bring happiness? Personally, I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n
Countless studies have been conducted in various countries with various political economies and with citizens who earn different amounts of money. According to these studies, countries like Cuba, a communist country, have a much greater population of happy citizens than Japan, a capitalist country.<\/p>\n
One question people can ask is, are the wealthiest people in a country happier than the poorest people of the same country? It\u2019s difficult to answer this question absolutely, but suicides and depression have been observed to occur more often in people with higher incomes. One of the reasons could be that a higher salary tends to come with a more stressful job. <\/p>\n
On the other hand, buying a new TV or an expensive car could cause people to feel ecstatic<\/b>. It\u2019s no secret that you need a lot of money to afford these things, so by that logic, money has literally bought those people happiness.<\/p>\n
However, if you do get your share of material goods, does that necessarily keep you happy for long? Do you remember being a child just before Christmas? It\u2019s common for children to feel the most excited the day before Christmas, not on Christmas day itself. For someone who plays video games, the time when I\u2019m most happy is during the challenge, not once I\u2019ve completed it.<\/p>\n
It might be nice to dream about having hundreds of millions of yen, but after you\u2019ve bought everything you want, you no longer have anything to dream about.<\/p>\n
To conclude, my answer to the question \u2018\u2019Can money buy happiness?\u2019\u2019 is yes, but only artificially<\/b>. If I won a million dollars in the lottery, I think I wouldn\u2019t be able to stop jumping. Of course, we need money to live and to have enough that we no longer have to worry about our earnings is hardly a bad thing. However, in that situation, the one thing that worries me is the question \u2018\u2019what\u2019s next?\u2019 It\u2019s in our nature to try and push our limits and dream of new possibilities. The skyscrapers of Tokyo are a perfect example of the potential of the human race. Simply having everything handed to<\/b> us on a silver platter might make us happy at first, but without a new dream or challenge, I don\u2019t think that happiness would last.<\/p>\n
Alex<\/p>\n
<\/br>
\nVocabulary<\/b><\/p>\n
outlandish (adj.) \u2013 very strange or unusual: extremely different from what is normal or expected
\nattain (v) \u2013 to succeed in getting or doing (something)
\necstatic ( adj.) \u2013 an extreme feeling of happiness, joy or excitement
\nartificially (adv.) \u2013 to do or make something unnaturally
\nhanded to (someone) on a silver platter (idiom) \u2013 to get something without any effort<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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