The Beauty in a Merge: A New Look at the Big Picture.” The authors also are the founders of the Center for Research on the Economics of the Good Society, and the authors’ books and papers on happiness were inspired by a 2009 survey of more than 3,000 Americans, also called The Good Life, conducted by the New Economics Foundation. The survey found that an average British household spends about 6,000 hours a year on chores that most people wouldn’t even classify as chores — and that it took them 3.9 years to earn enough to buy one year’s holiday abroad. The survey showed how much British people value personal time and showed how happiness varies according to wealth and circumstances. It also revealed which factors are most important to people’s happiness, from health and social relations to education, transport and access to amenities. So let’s get this straight: We’re going to spend £20,000 on a trip, and then spend a year’s salary on airfare and accommodation. Well, that’s one way to get that extra income. And if you think I’m being facetious, check out their list of “unconscious biases” they used to make such a stupid recommendation. This is what you call a moral panic. The New Economics Foundation has a track record for promoting stupid, destructive ideas about the economy. They’ve created an online game (which I believe is also their business model) to demonstrate that people are better off in a socialist society. The site declares, In this game, “Players” (your imaginary neighbours) each have a weekly income. Players then vote on a local government to decide how to allocate that income. After a week, players see how they have improved their living standard and compare themselves to their peers in other countries. There is no indication in the game that the game itself may be generating more taxes to fund the politicians. In fact, I got this message when I logged on: This isn’t socialism – it’s a model economy which explains why countries with a higher level of economic equality and welfare produce more innovation and creativity. This will be fascinating to you if you consider yourself an entrepreneur, self-employed, or investor. Or just someone who enjoys thinking and playing with new ideas. What could possibly be worth spending nearly £20,000 on something that encourages people to think about economics? Share this: Like this: Related I had one of those surveys a while back. It was one of those things where it’s meant to help us save our lives and make us happier. And now, since this survey, I see how it’s a threat to the freedom to make ourselves unhappy. Why does it have to be either/or? If you ask me, I’d rather take my £20K and not feel any guilt in spending it on the weekend (which would only cost a few pounds anyway). But if you ask the people who have been given the survey you might get a very different picture. I’m going to assume the people who spend all day doing chores for £20K don’t know what freedom is, or the difference between feeling happy and being free. And that’s the danger. What’s a £20K holiday or the money spent on the flight? To me, taking a holiday and the cost of flying were put on top as “toys” to buy (a toy can be defined in so many ways: A toy can be a book, a game, a toy car, a computer, a computer game, a CD) I took a holiday in the UK and went to Brighton. I bought a new outfit for it. That evening, I attended a fashion show in London for some dresses. The next day, I went to the V&A museum. Then I attended another fashion show at the V&A. I’ve never been interested in fashion or clothes. But, I do have an interest in arts. For the next six months, I didn’t visit a fashion show, but I did went to several art exhibitions. My leisure time has not decreased. It’s the same if I took a holiday in Thailand instead of London. It doesn’t matter how many clothes I buy or how many friends I visit and how many events I attend; what’s important is how do I invest my time and how can I make it interesting, fun and meaningful? It’s all about freedom and how I have fun making it happen. Hi Dan: A very fascinating post, well reasoned and supported with extensive academic research. Many of us have, over the past few months, thought this holiday was probably a bad idea, mainly as it’s so far beyond our grasp of rational thought that we might be in a kind of denial of reality to even consider it. Yet somehow we feel we can indulge and so will allow the nagging doubts to float away as we indulge and then the guilt will disappear… The idea of £20k or £100k on holidays is as absurd as the idea of £20k on that new car. There is no “there” there. No way at all. But, if this post is one indicator of a movement of thought, you can only imagine what other ridiculous things will be considered as worth doing. This, of course, doesn’t mean that other ridiculous things shouldn’t be done or aren’t being done. You should have a good time. By the way, I’m looking forward to your book on happiness. Looking at it now, the title on Amazon is very misleading and potentially condescending. I have to say that I was hoping for “What you ought to do”. Now, I might be a bit selfish here, but to me the word “ought” always connotes some kind of duty, obligation or obligation if that’s not the way you want to think of it, and you probably shouldn’t publish or write a book of that nature as it is somewhat condescending. I know it is meant as an academic survey. However, I can’t imagine a survey that is about happiness would require the word “ought” to begin with. Still, you can do what you want. I would hope you get my meaning. I don’t think you’re being selfish at all. The title you want is there, just under “The” in the book title. Actually, no, I’m not at all condescending. As with all my posts, they are never intended to be condescending. As a friend of mine once said, “You take what you can get.” But, I do really hope that there’s a new post on the site on that subject. It may be that I can’t say everything in one book, so I may need to say the same thing in two or three books, one about what I think it means to be happy and one about how to get to happiness. Of course, I’ll always try and remain balanced and fair in my discussion. Great post, it seems a lot of other people are feeling the same way about the survey, here’s an excerpt from