Happiness, Success, and... Money?

Yesterday my roommates and I watched Happy (Happy-Netflix). This 2011 documentary explored what it really means to people to be happy. The filmmakers went all over the world interviewing different people in search of what it is that really makes people happy in life, similar to how Bellah looked at the four different americans. All of the people in the documentary are so different (in their cultures, daily lives, and in what makes them each happy), but at the same time, all of these different people want to be happy in their lives in one way or another.

One part of the documentary that stuck out to me was this young businessman in America who was asked about his happiness:

          Reporter: What would make you happy?

          Young businessman: Success

          Reporter: And what would make you successful?

          Young businessman: Well, right now, money of course, lots of money. 

To me, this man's response was not surprising at all. I think one issue within America is that there is a common misconception about what it means to be happy or successful and often the two concepts are combined and have the answer of money, money is what would make people both happy and successful. Americans, especially today's younger generation, seem to be consumed by utilitarian individualism and this idea that the only kind of success there is is that of professional success, that making a lot of money at your job equals success in life.

But how far can money really go? Of course if you were living on the streets money would be great to buy yourself some food and shelter. But what about someone like Bill Gates? He has all the money he could imagine, but does that mean he is necessarily successful or happy? I think we can all agree that professionally Bill Gates is successful, but what about with his personal life, does his money make him successful then?