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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Money: The Key to Happiness or the Root of All Evil?

    In a put-down of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemmingway once wrote, "The very rich are different from you and me… they have more money." But ever since Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations in 1776, western economies have been based on growth and prosperity as the keys to happiness.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    In a put-down of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemmingway once wrote, "The very rich are different from you and me… they have more money." But ever since Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations in 1776, western economies have been based on growth and prosperity as the keys to happiness. On the day after Christmas, with the US heading into a major recession, it's worth asking if that’s really true. One study says Puerto Ricans are happier than Germans or Japanese? How come? Is a simpler, more frugal life more satisfying after all?

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Money: The Key to Happiness or the Root of All Evil?
    1. 1:41Inventory Glut on Store Shelves and at Frozen Ports
    2. 7:34Money: The Key to Happiness or the Root of All Evil?You’re reading this
    3. 41:53The Numbers Game
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

    • KCRW placeholder

      Karen Radziner

      Managing Producer, To the Point & Which Way LA?

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Frances Anderton

      architecture critic and author

    • KCRW placeholder

      Ed Diener

      Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    • KCRW placeholder

      Daniel Kahneman

      Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Princeton University

    • KCRW placeholder

      Vicky Robin

      Co-author, 'Your Money of Your Life'

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Money: The Key to Happiness or the Root of All Evil?
    1. 1:41Inventory Glut on Store Shelves and at Frozen Ports
    2. 7:34Money: The Key to Happiness or the Root of All Evil?You’re reading this
    3. 41:53The Numbers Game
    Back to To the Point