Money, Mind And Meaning

We’re all familiar with the term “keeping up with the Joneses” but it’s doubtful that we understand just how deeply ingrained this is in our concept of success and how the neurological processes we’ve touched on here contribute. Each year, a Gallup poll asks Americans to determine “What is the smallest amount of money a family of four needs to get along in this community?” Gallup finds that the answers to this question moves up in line with average incomes of the respondents. “Enough”, it seems, is a moving target that our flawed neurology won’t quite let us scratch. The amount of money we need to survive is just a little bit more than we have right now. Our brains push us toward comparative notions of financial wellbeing that only provide transitory joy, but understanding our limitations is a first step toward making a different choice. Indeed, the Western tendency toward outward displays of wealth and comparative measurement is not endemic to all developed countries. Switzerland is just one example of a ver