On second thought, perhaps money can buy happiness

Look at the graphic above (by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania), which accompanied David Leonhardt's April 16, 2008 "Economic Scene" column in the New York Times.

It's hard not to conclude that for the most part, people in wealthier countries are indeed more satisfied with their lives.

In 1915 W. Somerset Maugham wrote, in "Of Human Bondage," that "Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five."