As the European philosopher Rousseau once said, “Money can buy material things, but real happiness must be truly earned.”

Truly, money can buy a lot of things, it can buy food, clothes, a car, AirPods, etc…, but the age-old question is always worth considering: Can money really buy happiness? 

First, I feel like happiness is a subjective term based on your values or your experiences; for each person, happiness can mean something very different.

Happiness is generally defined as a human emotion that is an experience of positive feelings, like an appreciation for life, satisfaction, and pleasure.  By this definition, it is still completely subjective as to what individuals find satisfying or what gives them an appreciation for life. If having lots of clothes or owning expensive cars makes someone appreciate life, then yes, it seems as though money can truly buy happiness.

Needless to say, we live in a very materialistic world, where it seems as though life’s only driving factor is to make as much money as possible, buy the biggest house, drive the nicest car, and have the most meaningless stuff to show off to the rest of the world and prove your self-worth. The basic necessities of  life — food, water, and shelter — can largely be bought with money, but they simply are not enough to satisfy most of us in the modern world. Having only the necessities does not make most of us happy, because we as humans will constantly be wishing for more.

Of course, money can give a brief, false sense of happiness. Right after you buy the latest iPhone or the new Tesla model Y, you feel happy, right? But then after a while, that feeling wears off and you go back to wishing for more and more. Now you want a bigger house, or a Bentley, because the Tesla isn’t good enough. Then you will feel the same emptiness after buying those items and you fall into an endless cycle of wanting, buying, and depression. This feeling that happiness from material things gives us is perfectly described in a quote by the famous psychologist Abraham Maslow: “False optimism sooner or later means disillusionment, anger and hopelessness.” Now tell me, is that really happiness?

There are other things in life that can actually bring us lasting happiness, things that cannot be bought with all the money in the world. Loving someone, or being loved, is priceless and can last a lifetime. But I think happiness has a deeper meaning than simply just positivity. True happiness is a feeling that cannot be explained, and sometimes people say they are happy when they really are not.

Of course, there are some things that can be bought that undeniably equate to happiness, for instance, being able to to afford luxurious healthcare to save someone’s life. Not having to worry about money will make a person happier in that area than someone who is living paycheck to paycheck or wondering how they will afford their next meal. Although they may not be happy, it is not from the lack of money — it is from the lack of other things that can be bought with money.

The things that bring true happiness are not materialistic. Items that can be bought will only provide a person with a brief feeling of assurance, but feelings like love, stability, security, community, friendship, and self-actualization are what bring true happiness, which cannot be bought.