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Currently on hiatus :-(
 S&W in German/auf DeutschGaia (my fantasy comic) Scarlet (my science fantasy comic) |
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![[1290] If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them](/comics/2021-09-02-1290-if-you-cant-beat-them-join-them.png "[1290] If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them")
- Richard: Good things come to those who wait!
- Richard: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
- Richard: It doesn’t matter who started the fight!
- Richard: Money can’t buy happiness!
- Friend: I never thought I’d be so mad after a personal best…!
- Richard: No pain, no gain.
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I’ve never really understood that “Money can’t buy happiness” one, seeing as it can.
Tell him that going to the gym is fat shaming. See amazing results in a week.
Not sure what’s happening here.
@ Klekowskii:
If you already make enough money to ensure you have a comfortable place to sleep, you won’t go hungry, and (depending on the country) you can afford care if you become injured, then additional income does not benefit your well-being. A loving family, good friends, and personal achievement will bring you much more happiness than anything you can purchase. Happiness, in and of itself, is not some product that you can purchase.
@ Klekowskii:
I’d say it can buy a lack of sadness and suffering, but not necessarily happiness. Of course it’s often INCREDIBLY helpful for getting happiness and stuff, but yeh
@ Mortar:
I think Richard is being so annoying that the weightlifter channeled being so pissed off into achieving a personal best lift. He’s still annoyed though.
Richard is playing a dangerous game here. The weightlifter could become a “Richardlifter” at any point…
@ Suomynona:
Well, your words: “if you already make enough money…”, so in the end you need money to be happy. How much? Just enough, but you still need it. I agree that happiness is not a product, but it has a cost. I would say that we need money to live, but we shouldn’t need to live for money.
Willian wrote:
No, that money bought survivability – not happiness. One can survive without being happy. And it is possible to not survive but still be happy (or so I am told).
@ Klekowskii: That’s because it was coined as an admonishment to the rich. Specifically the ones who only care about making more and more money. In its original context, it was meant to say that if you’re rich and you aren’t happy with the abundant wealth you already have, getting richer isn’t going to make you any happier.
“Money, if it does not bring you happiness, will at least help you be miserable in comfort.”
Gotta love the quotes chosen to be in Civilization.
@ Klekowskii:
It’s meant to emphasize how shallow material wealth is in the long run, compared to things like meaningful relationships, peace of mind, etc. Unfortunately, like many other proverbs, it’s been hijacked to shame people from asking for more than what they have, however little that may be.
You’re dead for a real long time,
You just can’t prevent it.
So if money can’t buy happiness,
I guess I’ll have to rent it!
— Weird Al Yankovic
Interesting that “No pain, no gain” survived intact in the German version. Is there nothing equivalent in German, or is the English cliche so well-known that it didn’t need to be translated?
All of those sayings have some truth, but they can be misused, and often have been. For example, from a general point of view it doesn’t matter who starts a fight: violence and disagrement are unpleasant and can have really bad consequences. You need to do your best to avoid them, and in many cases, it is a valid point for parents to punish both parties, if there has been a fight. However, it is quite possible (though somewhat rare) for a person to end up in a fight without no culpability at all, and in these cases, dismissing the importance of initial aggression is a travesty of justice.
Similarly, the point about money being unable to buy happiness is a good admonition against making an idol out of wealth, but it is also true that you need money for living. Dismissing the importance of money to someone who sorely lacks it is really hurtful. The Book of Proverbs is a good at this:
@ Lurker 2:
About that “it is quite possible (though somewhat rare) for a person to end up in a fight without no culpability at all” stuff? That’s NOT “somewhat rare”; that’s what bullying is all about, and bullying (both among youths on a school and in the workplace) is something that happens depressingly often.
I also feel the need to point out that turning god into an idol has sowed at least just as much misery as the nigh-deification of money. The god of the bi(b)le deserves every dishonor we throw at him.
noname wrote:
Sorry. Bullying is not rare in total, but it still makes up a minority of human conflicts. I was mainly thinking about children’s usual petty quarrels. In my experience, both as child and adult, those are usually a result of mutual escalation and unwillingness to compromise. In such cases, giving up is usually better than fighting. The same goes also for majority of adult interactions that have a possibility to develop into fights. So, the saying has some grain of truth. It is exactly this partial truthfulness that makes it hurtful: you can’t negotiate with a bully and resolving the problem without a quarrel is often either impossible or more hurtful than conflict. Not recognising this is exactly the point why the adage is wrong. (A completely nonsensical statement would have much less potential to hurt. If I tell a gastroenterologist that he is a terrible surgeon, this is not hurtful, but shows that I am utterly incompetent to express an opinion on the matter.)
@ Klekowskii:
Studies have shown that, after you reach enough money to live (roof over head, no worry about food, etc.) having more money doesn’t make people happier on average
This is because the human mind adjusts it’s expectations and adapts, so a person’s overall level of happiness will tend towards the same level over time
Seems like Larissa is also Richards daughter…
Paradox wrote:
Yep, money can remove roadblocks to happiness, but once the roadblocks are gone it will not make you actually happy. It’s a threshold effect.
Ah, the triumph of adrenaline! Richard’s being a really good coach though another spotter on site really is necessary. You have no idea how easy it is to kill yourself lifting alone.
Klekowskii wrote:
You do know there are a variety of replies to that, right?
Like “True, but it does make “unhappy” easier to tolerate.”
Money can’t buy happiness, but it’s a lot more comfortable to cry in a Rolls than on a bicycle.
During Corona money allowed me to live in a comfortably large house surrounded by nature and order food, avoiding to get infected in the supermarket. Others were cramped for months in small downtown apartments. It’s right that money doesn’t make you happy. But it can help you not to become unhappy.
Overlooking that is a bit snobbish, in my opinion.
@ Willian:
Money is a necessary condition to be happy but NOT a sufficient condition.
Artie O’Dactyl wrote:
This.
roguebfl wrote:
I agree. I have easily reached that threshold and unless I am conned I’m fine financially for life. I’m only moderately happy and there is nothing I can spend money on that will improve it.
A friend’s mother said “Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can make you comfortable in your misery”.
The “It doesn’t matter who started the fight” reminds me another saying: “Violence accomplishes nothing.” What a contemptible lie! Raw, naked violence has settled more issues throughout history than any other method ever employed. Perhaps the city fathers of Carthage could debate the issue, with Hitler and Alexander as judges?
Bahamuttone wrote:
While true, most people don’t think mathematically enough to consider this easily understandable explanation. Also, it does skip the bit about threshold.
@ Klekowskii:
I can certainly attest that I would be a lot happier at this current moment if I had a horde of money that I could use to wipe away a slew of problems; no amount of me time, family time, friend time, or other time would solve said problems. Living in a capitalist country where you are LITERALLY required to go into debt to be seen as a “well-off” person is insanity in of itself… and yet here we are.
@ HKMaly:
That’s a quote or very near paraphrase from Starship Troopers in the middle of your comment. Credit to Robert Heinlein – in Lt. Colonel DuBois’ voice – where it is due.
@ Klekowskii:
It’s more of a diminishing return. Once all your needs have been met and exceeded, any more will not make you happier. In fact, it can actually make you worse. Because then you begin to worry if they are only after your money. And the more you have, the worse this gets, as the relationships can only be about money after a certain point.
Skulker wrote:
Survivability is the first step for happiness, because I cant imagine someone being homeless, unable to provide food for their children or having their parents die of an easily curable disease because they were ten dollars short to pay the treatment, and still be happy.
Bahamuttone wrote:
Yeah, but it is still one of the conditions. And like I said, we need money to live, but shouldn’t need to live for money. If one is greed, and is literally living for the sake of money, then happiness will never come because there are always more money at the end of the rainbow.
@ doclbn:
The German equivalent would be ‘ohne Fleiß kein Preis’; literally ‘no diligence no gain’. It just wouldn’t work as well in this context.
@ Klekowskii:
But it can buy a jetski. And have you ever seen anyone be sad on a jetski?
But seriously, it’s very important to be wise with that wealth.
@ GenericGuestName:
I just read that in Sean’s voice
Bahamuttone wrote:
Actually, it’s not even a necessary condition, although in a modern capitalist society, finding happiness without money is difficult. But consider those people who deliberately decide to drop out of such a society. They can find happiness.
@ Klekowskii:
It is just what the rich tell you to convince you that you are happier without all the money they make off your hard work.
@ Lota:
Money can totally buy happiness. It’s called paying a counselor.
I think I’m missing the joke since I’m not really understanding why those sayings are aggravating him.
Harmony wrote:
Yes, but ordinarily the goal is to buy your own happiness, not the counselor’s.
AZ wrote:
Novil has a odd sense of humor maybe? Or at least different from yours.
Cosmacelf wrote:
I think that he hates sayings…
Is Richard wearing a Zot T-Shirt?
@ Klekowskii:
simple, those who cant afford it tend to say that a lot
AZ wrote:
Well, just look at the people in the comments discussing the “Money can’t buy happiness” one. The sayings are aggravating him ’cause they just aren’t true.
@ Artie O’Dactyl:
Kein Schmerz kein Gewinn is the german version according to Google Translate
AZ wrote:
Because those phrases sound pretty and wise, but the first one one justify laziness; the second one justify a lack of motivation to improve things; the third one promotes injustice; the fourth one is used by the rich to tell others that they are soooo unhappy with all their money, and that you should be happy in poverty instead of singing La Marseillaise.
@ KarHallarn:
Well, that’s just a literal translation of it but nobody says it that way.
The German equivalent to it would be “Ohne Fleiß kein Preis” (translates roughly to “No reward without hard work”) but the English expression is used here fairly often as well.
Platitudes are the most infuriating phrases ever.