Have you asked yourself whether this is true?

The New Year's edition of The Economist ran a cover article on this question, ahead of the festive season. Parts of it are interesting, starting from the kicker that:"Capitalism can make a society richer and keep it free. Don't ask it to make you happy as well.

"Capitalism is adept at turning luxuries into necessities - bringing to the masses what the elites have always enjoyed.

"But the flip side of this genius is that people come to take for granted things they once coveted from afar. Frills they never thought they could have become essentials that they cannot do without. People are stuck on a treadmill: as they achieve a better standard of living, they become inured to its pleasures."

That strikes at the heart of the question of happiness and fits perfectly with the "sufficiency-economy philosophy" that all Thais now honour.

I remember the old days, 20 years back, when a television was such a rare thing. Each village might have only one television set and the owner's house would be the gathering place for the whole village.

Now, each house might have more than one TV set. And they can be various sizes - normally with a big screen larger than 20 inches, which was considered huge 20 years ago.

On the upper income level, the range of electronic gizmos in an urban home is more extensive. Stereo sets and DVD players abound. Kids own iPods and other kinds of MP3. All family members have their own mobile phones.

But amid all this clutter, are we happier than 20 years ago?

Hardly.

Just ask yourself: how many hours a week do you manage to watch movies at home? How many hours a day do kids turn on that pricey iPod?

Many would say these items make them happy just because they know that they possess them. So it's all right, even though they have no time to turn on their expensive toys.  

But why do these people yearn to get out of town whenever they can? Most accommodation in the provinces does not offer the fancy electronics of home. So why are Bangkok people still happy to get out into the countryside, burning so many litres of gasoline and wasting money on hotels and restaurants?

Okay, I will stop here or advertisers world-wide will hate me for telling you to feel "enough". If we all feel we have enough, corporate hucksters will be less innovative in offering new products to lure new buyers.

So, what New Year's present will you buy to make yourself happy?

achara_d@nationgroup.com