Hmm maybe but I sort of disagree with the broader thrust. There are downsides to wealth just like there are downsides to being attractive or smart or having lots of friends or w/e, and for some individuals the downsides are actually bigger than the positives, but I would be surprised if on average the minuses are outweighed by the positives.
I believe this more strongly if you’re ignoring the causally upstream stuff on achieving those outcomes. For example I think it’s more plausible that people who do extreme things to achieve wealth (imagine an investment banker working 80h/weeks) are less happy than demographic twins who chose not to achieve such wealth (similarly people like being extremely attractive but many people find extreme dieting and exercise unfun and steroids might be bad for you). But I would find it quite implausible that people who do broadly similar things to achieve positive outcomes but are more successful at it (or are just born lucky) are on average victims of their own success (or their own luck).
Hmm maybe but I sort of disagree with the broader thrust. There are downsides to wealth just like there are downsides to being attractive or smart or having lots of friends or w/e, and for some individuals the downsides are actually bigger than the positives, but I would be surprised if on average the minuses are outweighed by the positives.
I believe this more strongly if you’re ignoring the causally upstream stuff on achieving those outcomes. For example I think it’s more plausible that people who do extreme things to achieve wealth (imagine an investment banker working 80h/weeks) are less happy than demographic twins who chose not to achieve such wealth (similarly people like being extremely attractive but many people find extreme dieting and exercise unfun and steroids might be bad for you). But I would find it quite implausible that people who do broadly similar things to achieve positive outcomes but are more successful at it (or are just born lucky) are on average victims of their own success (or their own luck).