Apparently it is true that money does not bring happiness: this is demonstrated by a study conducted on indigenous populations, who claim to lead happy and satisfying lives despite their very low income, with a perceived quality of life comparable to that of richer societies.
The research, led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona and published in the PNAS journal of the American Academy of Sciences, therefore indicates that the correlation between income and happiness is not universal and that the wealth of industrialized economies does not it is essential for a satisfying life.
Most global surveys that measure citizen happiness tend to focus on the wealthiest societies and neglect smaller, more marginal ones, where the exchange of money plays a minimal role in daily life and livelihoods depend directly on nature. .
For this reason, researchers led by Eric Galbraith carried out a survey involving almost 3,000 people from 19 indigenous and local communities around the world.
Only 64% of the families interviewed have a small cash income, yet “many populations report very high average levels of life satisfaction – says Galbraith – with scores similar to those of rich countries”.
The average life satisfaction score stood at 6.8 on a scale from 0 to 10. In particular, four of the communities analyzed reported average scores above 8, typical of Scandinavian countries.
“And this despite many of these societies having suffered histories of marginalization and oppression,” adds the researcher.
The authors of the study point out, however, that the reasons behind this happiness are still unknown: “I hope that by learning more about what makes life satisfying in these different communities, we can help many others lead happier lives – concludes Galbraith – while addressing the sustainability crisis.”
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