he more money you have the more wants you can
satisfy and the happier you are. Following this logic it is reasonable to consider gross
national product as an adequate proxy for national happiness. However, firms are not
merely profit maximizers and human beings are not just utility maximizers, they are
cultural entities whose behavior is the outcome of complex and often contradictory
social processes. Most people want more income and strive for it, yet as western
societies have gotten richer they have become no happier. This is a basic paradox that
underlies our modem lives