by Michael Smoker

Created on: August 26, 2010

Money is not an end in itself but a tool. It is the most important tool of our age, but still just a tool nonetheless. As such, it cannot be taken as an objective-which is to say, large quantities of it can't be taken as an objective. Large amounts of money don't bring happiness any more than a million hammers help to hammer in one nail any better, or a gigantic three-ton screwdriver is better for driving one standard-sized screw.

The essence of money is that it facilitates the exchange of value. Someone who has a spare, unused toothbrush might want to trade it for a candy bar but not find anyone who has a candy bar and wants a toothbrush. Instead, he can sell the toothbrush to someone who does want it but doesn't have any food, and then use the money to buy the candy bar from someone else. When you think about it, that's really a fairly limited essence for money to have. It has no connection to anything that cannot be bought and sold, such as the love of a parent for a child, the fulfilment of deep faith, the enjoyment of fine music-or the acquisition of happiness.

Because happiness CANNOT be acquired. It is not something you can purchase because its value is inestimable. Happiness comes from within, in response to a combination of mental states, life events, experiences, and indeed material acquisitions. Many people constantly seek more money in order to get more stuff, believing that, if they can only have enough stuff, they will be happy. Stuff, however, does not by itself engender the experiences that lead to happiness-and all money is capable of doing is getting you stuff.

In addition, the acquisition of large sums of money is a well-known detriment. Once a person has put enough effort into acquiring money, his life becomes all about acquiring money. She never has enough, and that makes her unhappy. Large sums of money also lead to parent-child and sibling-to-sibling conflicts that destroy wealthy families. Those who inherit large sums of money without having earned them tend to be dissolute and to experiment with expensive habits, such as cocaine.

In the end, there is a very simple reason why money does not bring happiness. The only way to acquire something with money is to buy it, and happiness cannot be bought. That is the long and short of it.

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