Real wealth is measured in happiness
And happiness is measured in free time to do things you value.
if you’re in a job you love and enjoy, it’s not “work” you’re doing. It’s part of your life as well.
Yes and no, I do my “dream job” (though the exact definition seemingly keeps getting more precise/evolved, let’s just say I work in my dream field) and that doesn’t stop it from being stressful, and from eating away at my free time much more than any office job could. Even if I love the job, I’d still rather have more time for my kids and mental health.
It can be a byproduct of other fulfilling things but there is far more to life than happiness or money.
Happiness is neoliberal bullshit.
No
If youre not happy with your job you might find a new one
If youre not happy with your home you find a new one
If youre not happy with your partner you dump their ass and find a new one
Sad or stressed people lose their jobs, friends, mental health etc
Its got no shit to do with political views
Happiness is important.
Happiness science and benchmarking is intimately tied to the idea that individuals are responsible for their wellbeing. It tells the lie that you are unhappy because you don’t think right. When in fact you might not have wealth to sustain risks, build a house, start a family. When you might not have an employment contract that allows you to plan a vacation.
We need less happiness and more material welfare for everybody. It’s a bad word and we should stop using it.
You must be fun at parties
Yes, because the parties I go to are not full of empty shells of persons who try to maximize their happiness function. Instead, we appreciate each other’s company without having to tell stories of happiness achievements.
Is that what you think happy people talk about, being happy? So, at your parties, you talk about wealth?
We talk about all sorts of things but we don’t try to be happy. You’ll have a much better life once you start caring about wealth and morality instead of your happiness. I promise ;)
Happiness isn’t allowed to be in a capitalist society.
Humanity needs to continue to collectivise, even our brains should be collectivised through a brain-computer-brain network.
True.
Turns out it does not trickle down.
250k median wealth sounds like a lot, until you realise property is double that in many places. I’d love to this plotted against median property price for a family home.
Median wealth is interesting. During refugee crisis or development help for other countries guys cried but germany is so rich, they pay this out of pocket. Who’s rich here? Cause neither of us is. Germans got bled out really hard and current chancellor goes for the kill. Eerie sameish situation after WW1. Population is desparate for humane living conditions and the state bleeds our money. No wonder far right is on the rise.
“Germany” clearly is rich compared to its neighbors, it just has worse wealth inequality. And the richest 1% play the typical game of diverting attention away from that by pointing to a convenient scapegoat like immigrants.
In terms of mean wealth per capita only Poland, Czechia and Austria are poorer. If you look at median wealth it is only Poland and Czechia. If you look at GDP it is Poland, Czechia again and France and at the same level as Belgium
Germany is in one of the richest parts of the world. To be fair wealth inequality is horrible in Germany and needs to be fixed.
Germany” clearly is rich compared to its neighbors, it just has worse wealth inequality.
Where do you get this from?
The top-1% wealthiest’s share in Germany is at a similar level as its neighbours at around 27%. Switzerland and Austria’s data are bit higher (above 30%), only in Belgium and the Netherlands the top-1% own significantly less than in Germany.
Other measures like the top-10% shares show similar patterns. Germany’s data show that the country’s inequality level is roughly the same as its neighbours.
(Btw, other large economies, notably the U.S. and China, have significantly higher inequality than Germany and most democratically governed countries in Europe and beyond, with China have been experiencing rising inequality in particularly in the last two decades.)
You got a source for this? Because it sounds very cherry-picked and partially contradicting other data I have seen. Gini coefficient of Germany for example is among the worst in Europe.
Germany’s Gini coefficient for disposable income in 2025 is 30.1, according to Eurostat. Some EU countries show a higher Gini, some a lower one.
It’s the same thing everywhere. Germany’s inequality is around the Eurooean average by any comparative standard that I have seen. (And, again, Europe’s inequality is much lower than in most other world regions, particularly in larger economies like the U.S. and China.)
But if you think my data is cherry-picked, I’m open to learn something new. What are your sources?
Germany is around the European average pretty much by definition given it’s large size. But when you look at the actual data the wealth inequality is more similar to a corrupt mafia state like Malta, than countries like Belgium or Finland.
What are your sources?
Official data by the European comission. And besides, quite rich to ask me for sources when you provide none.
Germany is not rich. By what metric do you think its rich? Compared to its neighbors even? Like Switzerland, Netherlands, Denmark?
By what metric do you think its rich?
Standards on infrastructure. Fresh air, clean water from the tap, heating in all homes, electricity that never fails, doors and windows that actually work, public services, even police is a little less corrupt than many other places…
GDP isn’t an appropriate metric for measuring wealth.
When it comes to questions like: is a country able to pay for accommodating refugees it is a good approximation. And that is what the person that started this discussion tried to deny.
No, this is not true. This, again, has nothing to do with economics.
Ok, so what does it depend on then? In the medium to long term these Refugees probably contribute to the economy, but in the short term it costs money to support them and build accomodations etc. and a country with a high GDP is definitly more capable of paying for that than one with a low GDP.
