“Freedom is the greatest fruit of self-sufficiency” – Epicurus

MoneyOn Saturday, Karen Kaplan of the Los Angeles Times reported on an academic study about how the presence of money changes people. Florida State University issued a press release on the on the study since one of its graduate students participated in the finding.

“Money changes everything, and that includes changing people’s motivations for the better and their behavior toward others for the worse, according to a new study published in the international journal Science.”

“Florida State University psychology graduate student Nicole Mead was among a group of researchers who found that the concept of money brings about a state of self-sufficiency that allows people to work harder and more independently to achieve personal goals but makes them more socially insensitive in the process.”

“‘Money changes people’s motivations,’ Mead said. ‘They want to work really hard to achieve their goals. Consequently, they are less focused on other people. In this sense, money can be a barrier to social intimacy.'”

“‘The self-sufficient pattern explains why people view money as both the greatest good and evil,’ the authors concluded. ‘As countries and cultures developed, money may have allowed people to acquire goods and services that enabled the pursuit of cherished goals, which in turn diminished reliance on friends and family. In this way, money enhanced individualism but diminished communal motivations, an effect that is still apparent in people’s responses to money today.'”

Another report provided this example from Kathleen Vohs, a professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota and lead author of the study. She says, “A student with little money who wants to move to a new apartment gets a bunch of friends together and they have a few laughs along the way. But once they get a good job they hire a mover. That may be more efficient, but they lose out on some personal moments, she explained in a telephone interview.”

“Money makes it possible for people to achieve their goals without having to ask friends or acquaintances for help.”

I don’t know… to me it seems like they are confusing self-sufficiency with selfishness. Everyone has heard the Chinese proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Money helps people to help themselves. What’s wrong with that?

This makes me think about the Working Wealth campaign from SmithBarney. “Earn your first dollar by your labors. Get up early, work late. Get up the next day and do it again. Keep doing it, even after the dollars start adding up. Smile at challenges. Curse at idleness. Be true to your dream. Don’t stop until you achieve it. Then dream another dream. And work to achieve that. Pass on your values. Not just your assets. Give your family a better life. And the world a better life, too. Leave no statues. Leave signs of significance. Working wealth wears no uniform and meets in no club.”

You know who you are. You are self-sufficient and I wouldn’t call that selfish!