#657 - Erik Angner - An Economist’s Guide To A Happy Life
Jul 22, 2023
01:08:57
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Quick takeaways
Economics offers insights into societal challenges beyond finance, addressing crime and family dynamics.
Money can enhance happiness up to a point, but balance and achievable goals are crucial for fulfillment.
Inequality impacts happiness, with moderate levels reflecting preferences and excess leading to negative outcomes.
Deep dives
Economics in Everyday Life
Economics extends beyond stock markets and financial realms, encompassing diverse aspects of human well-being like crime, climate change, and family dynamics. Economists focus on the values and costs associated with human decisions, emphasizing trade-offs and benefits. The broad scope of economics offers insights into various societal challenges and provides tools to address them.
Challenging Misconceptions in Economics
Economics confronts misconceptions by portraying its broad range beyond financial aspects. The discipline encompasses diverse issues like crime, family dynamics, and climate change, providing economic perspectives and tools for analysis. By emphasizing the values at stake in decision-making and the balance between costs and benefits, economics offers unique insights into societal problems.
The Relationship Between Money and Happiness
Money plays a role in happiness, showing a correlation between increased income and higher levels of well-being, albeit with diminishing returns. While additional money may enhance happiness to some extent, the pursuit of wealth must consider trade-offs such as sacrificing leisure time or personal goals. Setting achievable goals and focusing on consistent practice rather than comparing oneself to unattainable standards can lead to a more balanced and fulfilling life.
Happiness and Inequality
In discussing happiness and inequality, it was highlighted that some level of inequality may be beneficial for total happiness as it reflects individual preferences. However, excessive inequality can lead to negative impacts on happiness, especially when basic needs are unmet or when individuals engage in harmful comparison with others. Opting out of unnecessary materialism and focusing on simple pleasures can contribute to greater happiness by avoiding detrimental comparisons and excessive consumerism.
Health and Adaptation
The podcast explored the concept of health and adaptation by discussing how people adapt to health conditions differently. Chronic pain was depicted as a significant obstacle to happiness due to its constant interference in daily life. In contrast, conditions like prostate problems, which can be monitored and managed without significant disruptions, were seen as easier to adapt to. The degree of adaptation to a health condition played a role in determining its impact on an individual's overall happiness and quality of life.
Erik Angner is a professor of philosophy at King's College London, researcher, and author.
Economists are usually concerned with macro trends. Money, finances. But they also have data-driven insights into what makes a happy, fulfilling life. Plus Erik is also a philosopher, so he manages to blend two murky worlds into a very usable life approach.
Expect to learn what economics says are the 4 pillars of living a good life, why everyone hates philosophers, whether all old Japanese people should kill themselves, why economists get such a bad wrap, how to maximise your happiness from an economic perspective, whether there is a difference between men and women's happiness, how to break your addiction to material possessions and much more...
