Ever since I was young, I have heard that money cannot buy happiness. Since I am usually very skeptical of everything I hear, I asked to be given some money to test this theory. But neither was I given money, nor did I come to believe the theory, and ended up contenting myself with what is logical and clear: happiness cannot buy money. Today, I have acquired proof that my old doubts were correct: Gallup conducted a massive poll that covered 132 countries between 2005 and 2009, polling 136 thousand people either directly or by telephone. The overall result, with a few exceptions, was that the world's richest countries are also the world's happiest. The poll, as I read, was complex, and more importantly, that it tested overall satisfaction, i.e. a person's opinion regarding his or her entire life, daily experience, or the little things that make him or her happy on a daily basis. Denmark came first in overall satisfaction and Finland first in daily experience. The wealthy western countries occupied most of the high ranks with notable exceptions, such as Costa Rica (6th), Brazil (12th) and Mexico (18th). (Perhaps the reason for this is that Latin American countries have the Samba and the Rumba and this makes up for money). I was not surprised that Israel came eighth in the poll, and I believe the reason is that the Israelis stole Palestine from its native inhabitants, and got away with it…until now, not to mention that they are living at the expense of U.S taxpayers. The United States is the richest country in the world. However, it ranked only 14th in the survey, which brings us back to the argument that money cannot buy happiness. However, Cambridge university in Britain published last year the results of its survey in 50 U.S states, showing that the happiest populations are those living in Western mountains, then in the West, Northeast, the Midwest and the South. This mirrors wealth distribution [in the U.S]; in the states that ranked high in the happiness index, there was more overall satisfaction because the income was higher, the housing was better, and the standards of education were good. The United States also provides us with another example of the relationship between happiness and money. There are endless polls on any subject imaginable and unimaginable, which all say that the Americans were less happy in the years 1973, 1982, 1992 and 2001. Each of these years saw a financial crisis, and hence, it is most likely that the polls of 2008 and 2009 will show the Americans falling on the happiness index. As I was gathering information on this subject, I stumbled on a book written by Jennifer Michael Hecht, a historian. The book is entitled “The Happiness Myth: Why What We Think Is Right Is Wrong”. The author insists that money does indeed buy happiness. She argues that the things that can induce happiness include shopping, dieting, sports, and even taking drugs for the addicts who can afford them. I suppose the above is true, but it is not absolutely true. If money could buy happiness, or if there were no routes to happiness other than money, then billionaires would have died of joy long ago. Perhaps the closest thing to the truth instead, is that happiness is not possible without money, but that there are many other factors for happiness. I read a study which I found to be logical as it said that surveys show that any person with an income, from any level, says that they need a 40 percent increase to their income to become happier. According to this study then, a sense of being successful is a better way to achieve happiness than money. The happiness index published by Gallup included 155 countries (after conducting polls in other countries, representing 96 percent of the world's population). The United Arab Emirates ranked highest among the 20 Arab countries included in the poll, followed by Kuwait (23), Qatar (35), Bahrain (48), Jordan (52), Saudi Arabia (58), Libya (67), Lebanon (73), Algeria (85), Tunisia (96), Yemen (98), Iraq (110) and Egypt and Morocco (115). This is while Iran took 81st place and Turkey 103rd; India fell to 115, and China fell to 125. The bottom ranks were occupied by poor countries, mostly those from sub-Saharan Africa. The poll settles the debate: Those who have money are on top, and those who don't are in the bottom. The Arab countries are not an exception to the rule this time. The richer countries have happier populations than those of the poorer Arab countries. This paves the way for a second theory which is that oil buys happiness, and a third theory which is that ignorance buys happiness. As long as Arab countries are all equal in the absence of democracy and because of ignorance, money remains a cause for happiness to some, while the cause is ignorance for others. I will continue tomorrow. [email protected]
