The article titled “Why Money Does Not Buy Happiness” was written by Sharon Begley and posted in the Newsweek magazine in October, 2007. The article attempts to persuade the reader that money is not a prerequisite to happiness, citing numerous examples of rich people being unhappy, and the conclusions countering both the sayings and perceptions of the economists as well as common sense. The article achieves this effect through various persuasive strategies, most of which, however, rely on either poor interpretation of the facts given and appeals to unnamed authority. The purpose of this paper is to focus on two argumentative strategies and provide a critical overview of both, along with recommendations as to how these issues can be fixed.
The first point that Begley utilizes throughout the entire article is that rich people are not inherently happier than the rest. The author cites miserable magnates, suicidal CEOs, and other rich people not enjoying their life more than others. Individuals with the same happiness scores can often be found in less luxurious spaces, such as in Greenland or Kenya.
The way the evidence was used in this argument is flawed on several accounts. First, the mentioning of unhappy rich people (CEOs, magnates) is purely anecdotal, and does not represent the real state of the issue – the percentage of unhappy people among the rich is significantly lower than among the poor. Ettman et al. (2022) states that the rich have a lower likelihood of being affected by depression, and the means of properly treating it. The argument also ignores cultural differences – they compare the happiness rating of a western millionaire to that of a Kenyan sheepherder. For the comparisons to be accurate, each example should be compared to their own culture. In order to improve the argument, the author should compare happiness ratings within the same socioeconomic and cultural frameworks.
The second argumentative strategy the article implements seems to revolve around the misinterpretation of facts to suit the agenda. Near the end of the article, Begley comes to a conclusion that happiness can bring one money. The evidence cited is as follows: “Young people who describe themselves as happy typically earn higher incomes, years later, than those who said they were unhappy” (Begley, 2007). This information is scarce, and does not tell us if those who were happy were rich before they fully engaged with their career. Nor does it tell us about the sources of said happiness (or lack thereof). Without any sources cited, this point can be considered hearsay.
Another example would be the use of the anecdotal grandmother wisdom that health and friends are better than wealth. This wisdom somehow transforms into the conclusion that the promotion of vague platitudes like liberty, trust, and democracy would somehow substitute economic growth, especially for poor people. That is especially true considering that health, for example, relies on the ability of the person to pay doctors and purchase medicine to address issues quickly (Felder, 2020). Money is also connected to the ability to eat healthy and in time (Felder, 2020). Friendships, though often viewed as something not connected to money, still have a relation to it – people who are rich are allowed to choose a wider range of companions. Poor people are typically restricted to their own socio-economic circle.
To address these issues and to make the points more persuasive, the author would have to abandon the manipulative tactics they have been using so far. Sources have to be cited appropriately, when a point is made. These same sources also require a rigorous examination, as ignoring the connection between health and money in a capitalist healthcare system seems counterintuitive. Perhaps, if all of these were done, the author would come to a different conclusion – that relative happiness starts with a certain degree of wealth, that differentiates from one culture to another.
References
Begley, S. (2017). Why money does not buy happiness?Newsweek. Web.
Ettman, C. K., Adam, G. P., Clark, M. A., Wilson, I. B., Vivier, P. M., & Galea, S. (2022). Wealth and depression: A scoping review. Brain and Behavior, 12(3), e2486.
Felder, S. (2020). The treatment decision under uncertainty: The effects of health, wealth and the probability of death. Journal of Health Economics, 69, 102253.