Can Money Buy Happiness Rhetorical Analysis

What made you happy as a child? Children do not think of money as bringing happiness to their lives. The only things that matter are how they perceive pleasure, how much they feel loved, and what brings them joy. As people grow older, they may assume that the more money they have, the happier they will be. While there are many articles and research studies done on Happiness, I have chosen to write about Daniel Haybron’s article “Happiness and It’s Discontent,” and Diener and Biswas-Diener’s article “Can Money Buy Happiness.” Haybron suggests that satisfaction does not equate happiness, on the other hand Diener and Biswas-Diener uses satisfaction studies to measure happiness. Also, while Haybron’s article is mostly about the emotional state,

One study revealed that money was an essential need for happiness, but it was not what made the people happy. They established satisfaction in close relationships with loved ones, community work, fulfillment and pride from their work and accomplishments (Diener and Biswas-Diener 162). The highest life satisfaction was found in societies of wealthy nation while the unhappiest nations were the extremely poor ones. When it comes to materialism, it does not matter if someone is rich or poor, all that matters is that “your income is sufficient to your desire,” and that “differences in aspirations lead to very different amounts of happiness” (Diener and Biswas-Diener 170). Money can bring great joy to someone’s life, but it can also bring destruction and unhappiness. Wanting money and material goods over love or leisure time can be frustrating and can distract from happiness. Desires that are way too high and are constantly rising higher with every material purchase, can make someone

It cannot be defined by just one thing. Satisfaction, like happiness, is mainly about one’s perspective on how their life is progressing. Meanwhile Diener and Biswas-Diener emphasize that how much someone is satisfied with money and material items is what causes them to be happy. We must always take into account what creates the splendor of happiness and satisfaction. We are all on this constant search for happiness, where we look for it in many different places, such as career achievements, material possessions and money. People miss the fact that happiness comes from within. In an attempt to find joy – we must also be cautious about over excessive desire to acquire material objects and wealth. There is a delicate balance that must be reached between the pursuit of happiness, satisfaction, and contentment. While there are many conditions that fulfill ones emotional wellbeing, happiness and how we acquired it, depends upon the