The Next Generation and the Pursuit of Happiness

Abstract

The author focuses on the interaction between wealth and happiness. She starts with the observation that there is a widespread belief that excessive affluence may spoil children, a condition exacerbated by inheritance taxes that do not favor substantial wealth transfers. She begins with an examination of the principal assumptions underpinning the concern that too much wealth spoils, pointing to three crucial questions: What is the effect of wealth on young people? What is the behavior of which we approve? What is a life that is well-lived? How does wealth affect the ability to live a good life? She then moves on to re-examining the meaning of work and to re-establishing its central role in the pursuit of happiness.