Money and Happiness: the proverb of the fisherman

Some of you may be familiar with the proverb of the fisherman. It goes something like this. There was once a fisherman who spent the morning fishing and the afternoon sleeping with his wife and playing with his kids. 

One day he is visited by a Western businessman who tells him that instead of lazing around he should work all afternoon.

'Why?' Asks the fisherman

‘Because then you would make enough money to employ a second staff member.’

'Why would I want to do that?' Asks the fisherman

‘Because then you could make more money and eventually you could buy a second boat.’

Why would I want to do that?

‘Because with a second boat you could make more profit and eventually buy a whole fleet. You could be a fisher-king!’

'Why would I want to be a fisher-king?'

‘Because eventually you’d be so rich you could retire and spend time with your wife and kids.’

Get it?

Many people think this story is profound. But while it has some merits is also obfuscates a great deal of important factors.

For one, it completely discounts the journey aspect of life. It assumes that the only thing of value in life is leisure, and unproductive leisure at that. While becoming a baron of the seas may indeed be vacuous that does not mean that working hard to achieve goals isn’t a distinctly pleasurable and meaningful activity.

Some people may be well served by aiming for a life of leisure and/or prioritising their family over work. I have commented many times on the foolishness of prioritising unfulfilling work over fulfilling human connections.

But other people will be much better served by throwing themselves into their ‘work’ 100 per cent; though a better word for work would be ‘projects’.

‘Projects’ are an important concept. For the fisherman his project is his family. For the Western businessman his project is making money. The businessman may be working under false pretences, but he also may not. Some people genuinely love money and things.

It is important to distinguish between what makes life meaningful and what makes life pleasant. A large amount of effort, including materialist effort to get more money, is devoted to removing suffering from your life. A more comfortable couch, a better healthcare plan, and larger house and many other material goods make life more pleasant, but they don’t make life more meaningful.

By the same token, completing marathons, climbing Everest, being elected to parliament, getting a promotion, completing a university degree and watching all 1001 movies you must see before you die make life more meaningful, but they aren’t necessarily pleasant experiences.

Think about what you want to prioritise in life and acknowledge that the question is complex and entirely subjective. Is money important to you? Is family important to you? What about travelling?

Simple proverbs are just that—simple.  

This article was first published on markfabian.blogspot.com in 2013.