Money

Fifty Cents (50c) had managed to invoke my curiousity when he said that “who eve
r said that money cannot buy happiness must have been broke”. I render it necess
ary to admit that when I first heard this statement I was moved to indulge in it
s humour rather than give way to contemplate its sense and substance. The most s
uperficial assessment of life reveals that money or it ‘barterable’ equivalent i
s required to offset even our most basic needs- food, clothing and shelter. The
world is not shy of incidents which make transparent the devastation caused by a
lack of or an inadequate supply of this universal economic tool. There are coun
tless examples worldwide or the rampant spread of diseases, widespread famine, p
rolonged drought, broken communities, and international exploitation of the edic
ts of International Law; all of which are a consequence of insufficient funds. T
he list of these examples is by no means exhaustive. At this juncture of exposi
tion I wish to challenge the competence of your imagination to assess the happin
ess of a, albeit hypothetical, hungry, naked, homeless man. I suspect that now y
ou are getting the picture. But permit me to add that he boasts possession of pe
rfect sanity and that he’s a mere victim of circumstances over which he has no p
ower of control.
The so-called intellectual might view this as an opportunity to merry in the emp
loy of his self-professed mastery of philosophy and tender his abstract argument
s hinged maybe in logic, metaphysics or ethics- hedonism, naturalism, rationalis
m, individualism, existentialism, etc. The theologian may advance his arguments
of man’s inherent spirituality and his obligation to become one with God on a sp
iritual plane; please do not confuse my reference with any appeal to mysticism.
I discourage neither the philosopher nor the theologian since I labour under a p
erpetual readiness to entertain any perspective that holds water and oftentimes
even that which does not since there is sense in every absurdity. I wish, howeve
r, to implore both the expert and layman alike to contemplate the example of a m
an who is devout to his religious persuasion, irrespective of what that persuasi
on might be. This man has survived a motor vehicle accident in which he lost onl
y two fingers and had his right leg broken in three places. Mind you, his commit
ment to the Divine is still intact as it has suffered no injury. He thanks his C
reator for saving his life and limiting his injuries to those which he has suffe
red. He spares no opportunity to admit that his outcome could have been much wor
se. However, he nevertheless wishes that such fate had not befallen him. He woul
d have much preferred the presence of his two fingers and the wholeness of his l
imb since his injuries are a measure of discomfort and consequent unhappiness.
His mobility is limited and his functionality is significantly reduced but his l
ot pales in significance to the victim who lost his arm and leg and the other tw
o who lost their lives. Now our goodly friend is still piously happy but simulta
neously unhappy with his physical reality, but he’s not ungrateful to his Maker.
If we may, let us add our hungry, naked, homeless friend to this narrative, rec
ognizing that it might not be outrageous to suppose that his spirituality may be
remarkable as well. But given his circumstances, would it be reasonable to supp
ose that he is happy? Would the availability of an adequate supply of money to e
mpower him to cater to his basic needs have any effect upon his happiness?
The view might be quickly held that- and I find no justification for blaming its
holder/s- that I am constructing a case for the correlation between an adequate
supply of money and happiness. I find it material to stand in my defense and sa
y boldly that I am not. I see my exposition only as my highlighting the obvious.
From an economic strand-point, money is the means by which we exist on the supp
ly/demand platform. Money is used to satisfy our needs, wants, for the preserva
tion of our health, for our educational advancement and even in the cultivation
of our relationship with the Creator. These are all incidental to our pursuit o
f happiness. I have learnt that sometimes “we miss the obvious”.
Ronald Daniels
16th February, 2010, Trinidad and Tobago.