SUSTAINABILITYClass 7: Fulfillment & HappinessPOLI 294P. Brian Fisher

FULFILLMENT = SUSTAINABILITY ?

Can $$ buy Happiness (Sci Am)• American families who make over $300,000 a year donate to

charity a mere 4% of their incomes. • People who had won between $50k & $1mil (in 1970s dollars) were

less impressed by life’s simple pleasures than people who experienced no such windfall.

• Although wealth may grant us opportunities to purchase many things, it simultaneously impairs our ability to enjoy those things.

• Argument: “having money raises our aspirations about the happiness that we expect in our daily lives, and these raised aspirations can be toxic…Unfortunately, raised aspirations don’t only lead us to take things for granted and impair our savoring abilities. They steer us to consume too much, tax the planet's resources, overspend and undersave, go into debt, gamble, live beyond our means, and purchase mortgages that we can’t afford.

Happiness/Income (US) 1956-1998

How would you rate your level of "happiness"?

• 93% were “happy”• Most respondents were “happy” (47%) with 18% “very happy” • National Happiness Survey: 31% “very happy”; our survey “18%

“very happy” and 7% “very fulfilled”

How would you rate your level of "fulfillment" with your life?

• 85% of respondents were fulfilled• Most are “modestly fulfilled” (39%) and 78% were Modestly

Fulfilled or Fulfilled• Less fulfillment than “happiness”

Please rank the top 3 sources of your fulfillment:

Answer ResponsesChildren/Family 103Spouse/significant friend 68Friends 68Life purpose 62Health (own) 49Liesure activities 39Financial Security 34Creative Work 33Satisfying Needs 28Making Money 26Spiritual/Religious 24Weather 12Shopping 12

How much do you agree with the following: I find fulfillment through meaningful activities.

# Answer Response %

1 Strongly Disagree 2 1%

2 Disagree 2 1%

3 Neither Agree nor Disagree 16 10%

4 Agree 80 51%5 Strongly Agree 56 36%

Total 156 100%

How much do you estimate that you spend monthly on goods that are beyond survival basic needs (food,...

# Answer Response %

1 0 1 1%

2 5-10% 30 19%

3 10-25% 56 35%4 25-50% 42 27%5 50-100% 28 18%6 100%+ 1 1%

Total 158 100%

• Less than 1% believe they don’t overconsume• 62% believe they consume more than basic needs by 10-50%• 45% believe they consume more than needs by 25-100%

I feel that I would be more fulfilled by consuming:

# Answer Response %

1 MORE 12 8%

2 LESS 54 34%

3 NEITHER 92 58%

Total 158 100%

• Only 8% felt that consuming more would yield more fulfillment• 34% agree that consuming less yields more fulfillment• Why “neither”?

How much do you agree with following: Affluence leads to greater fulfillment

# Answer Response %

1 Strongly Disagree 10 6%2 Disagree 45 28%3 Neither Agree nor

Disagree46 29%

4 Agree 49 31%5 Strongly Agree 8 5%

Total 158 100%

* Very even: 34% disagree, 36% agree

How much do you agree with the following: Consumption beyond our needs has led to greater ecological...

# Answer Response %

1 Strongly Disagree 2 1%2 Disagree 5 3%3 Neither Agree nor

Disagree17 11%

4 Agree 69 44%5 Strongly Agree 64 41%

Total 157 100%

* 85% agree (over)consumption leads to ecological damage, only 4% disagree* 26% of respondents conservative, 44% were moderate politically (either liberal or conservative)

Answer only if above age 30. During your lifetime, you have observed:

# Question Much Less

Less Same More Much More

N/A or Don't Know

# Mean

1 Technology in your life

1 1 1 4 60 3 70 4.86

2 Sense of Community

6 34 10 9 8 4 71 2.87

3 Trust in Government

21 31 10 2 1 3 68 2.12

4 Trust in Corporations

26 28 8 3 1 3 69 2.04

5 Knowing your Neighbors

9 34 13 7 2 3 68 2.53

6 Meaning in life 2 11 21 16 13 5 68 3.62

7 Consumption 1 2 5 24 31 3 66 4.38

8 Environmental harm/damage

0 12 9 18 27 2 68 3.97

9 Belief in American ideals

5 25 23 8 3 4 68 2.87

During Your Lifetime, you have observed:CONCLUSIONS

+/- MeanTechnology +++ 4.86

Consumption ++ 4.38

Enviro Harm ++ 3.97

Meaning in Life + 3.62

Sense of Community - - 2.87

Belief in Amer Ideals - - 2.87

Knowing Neighbors - - 2.53

Trust Gov’t - - - 2.12

Trust Corps - - - 2.04

The world will be a better place for you than it was for the previous generation?

# Answer Response %

1 Strongly Disagree 9 6%

2 Disagree 50 32%

3 Neither Agree nor Disagree 53 34%

4 Agree 41 26%

5 Strongly Agree 4 3%

Total 157 100%

• Even split: 38% disagree, 29% agree• But, 71% believe this isn’t true or about same

The core purpose of College is:

# Answer Response %

1 Personal Growth/Development 123 78%

2 Enhance material wealth from degree

20 13%

3 Build Relationships 8 5%

4 To prepare for graduate school 7 4%

Total 158 100%

How much do you agree with the following: "I have found my life's purpose"

# Answer Response %

1 Strongly Disagree 11 7%

2 Disagree 43 27%

3 Neither Agree nor Disagree

46 29%

4 Agree 50 32%

5 Strongly Agree 7 4%

Total 157 100%

Even Split: 34% disagree, 36% agreeBut, vast majority have not found life’s purpose

Bivariate RegressionAge – Life’s Purpose

Bivariate RegressionLife Purpose and Fulfillment

Bivariate RegressionIncome – Basic Needs

Bivariate RegressionReligion and Meaning/Purpose

Bivariate Politics & Trust

Bivariate Generation – Age/$

Data Conclusions• Deeper meaning in life is HIGHLY correlated to fulfillment and happiness• Money plays a limited role in developing fulfillment; Life purpose is a key for finding

fulfillment• Mixed results on affluence and fulfillment FINANCIAL SECURITY is more meaningful

than money or shopping• Consumption is largely blind – it is NOT tethered to BASIC NEEDS.• The key to deeper meaning is RELATIONSHIPS and PURPOSE (could be religious,

spiritual, career, etc)• Vast majority recognize that consumption beyond basic needs leads to ECOLOGICAL

DESTRUCTION• Most acknowledge living FAR beyond their basic needs• Political Ideology plays a limited role in perception of individual daily life and ecological

harm; $$ does not.• Religion generates meaning, and could be an important path toward fulfillment and

generating ecological awareness• Solutions: Declining trust in public institutions, fewer personal relationships, higher

consumption patterns, more destruction, fewer buying into American ideals• Sustainability??

Ways to be happy from $$• Spend on

1. activities that help us grow as a person (guitar lessons), strengthen our connections with others (dinners with colleagues, car trips with friends), and contribute to our communities (catering a fundraiser, donating to the needy)

2. activities and experiences (e.g., rock climbing expeditions, wine tasting family reunions) rather than material possessions

3. many small pleasures (e.g., regular massages, weekly delivery of fresh flowers) rather than on one big-ticket item (like a new car or flat-screen TV); and

4. something that we work extremely hard to get and have to wait for (whether it’s a concert, trip, or gadget) and relish the feeling of hard-won accomplishment and anticipation

Sustainability = Fulfillment ?• Can we sustain something without fulfillment? Happiness?

Think about an individual activity?

• If happier people will facilitate sustainability, then what do we need to generate that?

• Q is how can we both address sustainability while also generating a more happy community?

• Final Q: Is this an activity or paradigm for the individual? Community? State? Global?