As Western wealth and technology continue to rise, many psychologists point out that our happiness is not increasing at pace. In fact, some studies indicate that as a nation’s wealth goes up, its happiness goes down. Or at least levels off. Something about the human psyche quickly adapts to a new normal. Things we categorize as “needs”—a car, a telephone, a daily multivitamin, electricity, running water—didn’t even exist until recently, and yet many people were quite happy without them.
