Oliver Goldsmith on Happiness and Frugality
on Friday, March 1, 2013Oliver Goldsmith Money Quotation saying governments should learn to be frugal and avoid spending on superfluous programs to gain happiness for the citizens. Oliver Goldsmith said:
“If frugality were established in the state, if our expenses were laid out rather in the necessaries than the superfluities of life, there might be fewer wants, and even fewer pleasures, but infinitely more happiness” — Oliver Goldsmith
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In this quote, Oliver Goldsmith is suggesting that if both individuals and governments practiced more frugality by focusing expenditures on necessities rather than luxuries, it could lead to greater overall happiness in society.
While there may be fewer material goods and indulgences, Goldsmith argues people would want for less and experience less stress over finances.
He seems to believe a culture that values moderation over excess would see less competition and unhappiness driven by keeping up with social trends of lavish spending.
So in essence, Goldsmith is proposing that restraining wasteful consumption at both the personal and national level could cultivate a more contented populace with fewer economic hardships despite fewer lavish “pleasures”.