Does money buy happiness? Not! Ah, but would a little more money make us a little happier? Many of us smirk and nod. There is, we believe, some connection between fiscal fitness and feeling fantastic. Most of us would say that, yes, we would like to be rich. Three in four American collegians now consider it "very important" or "essential" that they become "very well off financially". Money matters.
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3/4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.
Well, are rich people happier? Researchers have found that in poor countries, being relatively well off does make for greater wellbeing. We need food, rest, shelter and social contact.
富人更幸福嗎?研究人員發現,在一些貧困國家裡,相對的富足的確能讓人感到更加幸福.我們需要食物、休息、安全感和社會交往.
But a surprising fact of life is that in countries where nearly everyone can afford life's necessities, increasing affluence matters surprisingly little. The correlation between income and happiness is "surprisingly weak", observed University of Michigan researcher Ronald Inglehart in one 16-nation study of 170,000 people. Once comfortable, more money provides diminishing returns. The second piece of pie, or the second $100,000, never tastes as good as the first.
但是,生活中有這樣一個事實,實在令人驚訝.在那些幾乎每個人都能用得起生活必需品的國家裡,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,物質財富的增加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,同樣,第二次掙的10萬美元帶來的興奮感遠不如第一次強烈.
Even lottery winners and the Forbes' 100 wealthiest Americans have expressed only slightly greater happiness than the average American. Making it big brings temporary joy. But in the long run wealth is like health: its utter absence can breed misery, but having it doesn't guarantee happiness. Happiness seems less a matter of getting what we want than of wanting what we have.
甚至連彩票中獎者和福布斯財富100強都表示,他們感受到的幸福只是比一般美國人稍微多一點點而已.發大財帶來的只是暫時的快樂.但是,從長遠來看,財富就像健康一樣：完全缺失會令苦難滋生,但擁有也不能保證幸福.幸福似乎並不是得到我們想要的東西,而是對我們擁有的東西的一種渴望.
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?
經濟好轉了,我們的幸福感是否會隨之上漲呢?今天的我們是否比1940年更幸福呢?那時候,2/5的家庭還沒有淋浴或浴盆,往爐子裡添一塊木頭或煤炭就是取暖了?35%的家庭沒有衛生間.
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.
事實上,我們並沒有比以前更幸福.從1957年以來,美國人中,說自己"很幸福"的人數從35%降至32%.與此同時,離婚率是原來的兩倍,青少年自殺率幾乎是原來的三倍,犯罪率則高達原來的四倍（儘管最近有所降低）,有抑鬱症的人（特別是青少年）越來越多,超過了以往任何時候.
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.
這種隨著財富飛速增長,精神卻不斷委靡的狀況,我稱之為"美國式的謬論".與從前的生活相比較,我們擁有了大房子,家庭卻破裂了；收入高了,道德意識卻淡薄了；獲得了權利,卻沒有以前有教養了；我們生活水平提高了,卻往往不會營造生活；我們慶祝自己有了財富,卻又懷念起奮鬥時有目標的生活；我們珍視自由,卻又渴望交流.在這個物質充裕的時代,我們的精神卻感到飢渴.
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