Has our happiness floated upward with the rising economic tide？ Are we happier today than in 1940， when two out of five homes lacked a shower or tub？ When heat often meant feeding wood or coal into a furnace？ When 35 percent of homes had no toilet？
Actually， we are not. Since 1957， the number of Americans who say they are “very happy” has declined from 35 to 32 percent. Meanwhile， the divorce rate has doubled， the teen suicide rate has nearly tripled， the violent crime rate has nearly quadrupled (even after the recent decline)， and more people than ever(especially teens and young adults) are depressed.
I call this soaring wealth and shrinking spirit “the American paradox”. More than ever， we have big houses and broken homes， high incomes and low morale， secured rights and diminished civility. We excel at making a living but often fail at making a life. We celebrate our prosperity but yearn for purpose. We cherish our freedoms but long for connection. In an age of plenty， we feel spiritual hunger.
金錢買得到幸福嗎？買不到！但是，錢多一點兒，幸福是不是也會多些呢？我們很多人會咧嘴一笑，點點頭。我們相信，財富的多少與精神愉悅之間有些關聯。多數人會說：我們確實想成為富人。現在，美國大學生中有四分之三的人認為，“經濟的富足”是“非常重要”或“必不可少”的。金錢的確重要。
富人更幸福嗎？研究人員發現，在一些貧困國家裏，相對富足的確能使安康的可能性更大。因為我們需要食物、休息、庇護所和社會聯係。
但是，生活中有這樣一個令人驚訝的事實。在那些幾乎每個人都能擁有生活必需品的國家裏，財富的增長對幸福的影響並不大。收入和幸福之間的相互關係是“令人驚異的微小”。密歇根大學研究員羅納德？英格利哈特在他的調查報告中是這樣評述的——他曾對16個國家的17萬人口作了調查。一旦人們的生活安逸了，增加的物質財富所帶來的幸福感則會逐漸降低。第二張餡餅永遠沒有第一張味道鮮美，或者，第二次10萬美元帶來的興奮感遠不如第一次強烈。