Having more than your neighbors is a huge drive to human happiness. House size has no impact on happiness. Having the biggest house on the block is a huge happiness boost. Above the level needed for minimum sustainable food and shelter, wages have no impact on happiness. Making more money than your friends is a huge happiness boost.
It’s something about how we are wired as humans. Many of us have other drivers that are stronger than the drive to have more than others in our community, but to get social support any strategy for raising the living standard floor needs to acknowledge the issue of this hard-wired drive.
That’s a very broad generalization. Lots of people need to prove their prosperity with giant houses, and other people just want a house that has the room they need and isn’t hard to clean. There are people who need designer label clothes and gold chains and people who are very happy with thrift shop aloha shirts. I don’t think it’s hardwired in at all, it’s more of a personality quirk, like resistance to advertising or how spicy you like your food. Combination of genes, culture and habit.
Having more than your neighbors is a huge drive to human happiness. House size has no impact on happiness. Having the biggest house on the block is a huge happiness boost. Above the level needed for minimum sustainable food and shelter, wages have no impact on happiness. Making more money than your friends is a huge happiness boost.
It’s something about how we are wired as humans. Many of us have other drivers that are stronger than the drive to have more than others in our community, but to get social support any strategy for raising the living standard floor needs to acknowledge the issue of this hard-wired drive.
That’s a very broad generalization. Lots of people need to prove their prosperity with giant houses, and other people just want a house that has the room they need and isn’t hard to clean. There are people who need designer label clothes and gold chains and people who are very happy with thrift shop aloha shirts. I don’t think it’s hardwired in at all, it’s more of a personality quirk, like resistance to advertising or how spicy you like your food. Combination of genes, culture and habit.