EigoPro 1級 読解 — The Paradox of Plenty: When Growth Stops Buying Happiness

Few findings in social science have proved as durable, or as awkward for orthodox economics, as the Easterlin paradox. In 1974 the economist Richard Easterlin observed that although wealthier individuals within a country consistently report greater life satisfaction than poorer ones, the average happiness of entire nations scarcely budges as those nations grow richer over the decades. The implication is unsettling: prosperity that benefits everyone may leave collective contentment essentially unchanged. Why should this be so? The dominant explanation rests on the relentless logic of comparison and adaptation. Much of the satisfaction wealth confers is positional rather than absolute; what gratifies us is not the size of our house but its size relative to our neighbour's. Because such comparisons cancel out across a population, universal enrichment yields no aggregate gain. Adaptation compounds the problem. The thrill of a salary rise dissipates with bewildering speed as expectations recalibrate around the new baseline, leaving us reaching, treadmill-like, for the next increment. What once felt like luxury is swiftly reclassified as necessity, and the hedonic dividend evaporates almost as soon as it is banked. These mechanisms expose the fragility of an assumption that has underpinned policy for generations: that maximising gross domestic product is tantamount to maximising welfare. If beyond a modest threshold extra income purchases diminishing slivers of well-being, then a state fixated on growth alone may be squandering effort on a goal that no longer pays its way. Critics accordingly urge governments to supplement output metrics with indices of subjective well-being, redirecting policy toward health, leisure, security and social trust, goods that the national accounts have always struggled to register. Yet the paradox should not be overstated. Cross-country comparisons reveal that citizens of affluent states do, on balance, report somewhat higher satisfaction than those of destitute ones, and economic collapse reliably breeds misery. Growth, then, is neither a panacea nor an irrelevance. The lesson is one of proportion: a maturing economy that continues to chase output while neglecting the determinants of contentment is, in effect, optimising the wrong variable.

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この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

1級 · 読解 · 全5問

問 1

Which statement best captures the central argument of the passage?

  • Economic growth is fundamentally irrelevant to human happiness and should be abandoned as a policy aim entirely.
  • Wealthier nations are uniformly happier than poorer ones, proving that maximising GDP reliably maximises welfare.
  • Happiness is determined solely by genetic temperament, so neither income nor public policy can meaningfully influence it.
  • Although income reliably tracks happiness among individuals, national growth yields little aggregate gain in contentment, so growth-centric policy optimises the wrong variable.
Phrase

optimising the wrong variable

1級読解主旨把握論旨
⚡ひとことで

個人内では所得と幸福が連動するが、国家全体の成長は幸福総量をほとんど増やさず、成長一辺倒の政策は誤った変数を最適化しているという論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Although income reliably tracks happiness among individuals, national growth yields little aggregate gain in contentment, so growth-centric policy optimises the wrong variable.」

正解

本文は Easterlin paradox を軸に、個人間では富裕層の方が満足度が高い一方、国全体が豊かになっても平均幸福度がほとんど動かないと述べる。結論部 "a maturing economy that continues to chase output while neglecting the determinants of contentment is, in effect, optimising the wrong variable" がこの主旨を端的に示す。所得と幸福の連動と総量の停滞を両立させた要約が正解。

  • 「Economic growth is fundamentally irrelevant to human happiness and should be abandoned as a policy aim entirely.」

    = 成長は幸福に全く無関係で政策目標として放棄すべき ━ 本文は "Growth, then, is neither a panacea nor an irrelevance" と明言し、成長を無関係とは断じていない。

  • 「Wealthier nations are uniformly happier than poorer ones, proving that maximising GDP reliably maximises welfare.」

    = 富裕国は一様に幸福でGDP最大化が厚生最大化に等しい ━ 本文はまさにこの前提の "fragility" を暴くことを論旨とし、肯定していない。

  • 「Happiness is determined solely by inherited genetic temperament, so neither rising income nor public policy can meaningfully influence it in any society.」

    = 幸福は気質で決まり所得も政策も影響しない ━ 本文は遺伝に一切言及せず、健康・余暇・社会的信頼など政策で動かせる要因を挙げている。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
capture the central argument中心的論旨を捉えるHer summary failed to capture the central argument of the essay.
optimise the wrong variable誤った変数を最適化するMaximising speed alone risks optimising the wrong variable.
aggregate gain総量としての利得Universal pay rises produced no aggregate gain in morale.
growth-centric policy成長中心の政策Growth-centric policy can overlook environmental costs.
track happiness幸福と連動するWithin a nation, income tends to track happiness closely.
❝例文

  • The thesis is that prosperity may leave collective contentment essentially unchanged.

    主旨は、繁栄が集団の満足度をほとんど変えないまま終わりうるということだ。

  • Income tracks happiness among individuals far more reliably than across nations.

    所得は国家間より個人間ではるかに確実に幸福と連動する。

  • A state fixated on growth may be optimising the wrong variable.

    成長に固執する国家は誤った変数を最適化しているのかもしれない。

  • The paradox is awkward for orthodox economics.

    このパラドックスは正統派経済学にとって都合が悪い。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問では本文の二面性（個人内の連動＋総量の停滞）を両立させた選択肢を選ぶ。一方だけを極端化した選択肢（完全否定・全面肯定）は罠。

問 2

According to the passage, what did Richard Easterlin observe in 1974?

  • Nations that grow richer experience steady and substantial declines in their average happiness.
  • Poorer individuals within a country consistently report higher satisfaction than wealthier ones.
  • Both individual and national happiness rise in direct proportion to increases in income over time.
  • Within a country wealthier people report greater satisfaction, yet a nation's average happiness barely changes as it grows richer over decades.
Phrase

scarcely budges

1級読解詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

国内では富裕層ほど満足度が高いが、国全体が数十年で豊かになっても平均幸福度はほとんど動かない、という観察。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Within a country wealthier people report greater satisfaction, yet a nation's average happiness barely changes as it grows richer over decades.」

正解

本文は "wealthier individuals within a country consistently report greater life satisfaction than poorer ones" としつつ、"the average happiness of entire nations scarcely budges as those nations grow richer" と述べる。個人レベルの正の関係と国家レベルの停滞という二点が観察の核心。両者を正しく組み合わせた選択肢が正解。

  • 「Both individual and national happiness rise in direct proportion to any increases in income over the course of the decades.」

    = 個人も国家も所得に正比例して幸福が上昇 ━ 国家平均は "scarcely budges" とあり比例しないため誤り。

  • 「Poorer individuals within a country consistently report higher satisfaction than wealthier ones.」

    = 国内では貧しい人の方が満足度が高い ━ 本文は富裕層の方が "greater life satisfaction" と明記し逆。

  • 「Nations that grow richer experience steady and substantial declines in their average happiness.」

    = 豊かになる国は平均幸福度が大幅に低下し続ける ━ "scarcely budges"（ほとんど動かない）であり大幅低下ではない。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
scarcely budgeほとんど動かないDespite reforms, the figures scarcely budged.
report greater satisfactionより高い満足を報告するHigher earners report greater satisfaction on surveys.
grow richerより豊かになるAs the country grew richer, inequality widened.
over the decades数十年にわたってReal wages doubled over the decades.
within a country一国内でWithin a country, status matters more than absolute wealth.
❝例文

  • Average happiness scarcely budges even as output soars.

    生産が急増しても平均幸福度はほとんど動かない。

  • Wealthier individuals report greater satisfaction than their poorer compatriots.

    富裕な個人は貧しい同胞より高い満足を報告する。

  • The nation grew richer for decades without growing happier.

    その国は数十年豊かになり続けたが幸福にはならなかった。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

詳細設問は本文の対比構造を分解して照合する。「個人内」と「国家平均」の主語を取り違えた選択肢が定番の罠。

問 3

How does the passage explain why universal enrichment yields no aggregate gain in contentment?

  • People deliberately conceal their true happiness from survey-takers, making aggregate measurements systematically unreliable.
  • Rising incomes are invariably offset by equally rising taxes, so no one is ever materially better off.
  • Much satisfaction is positional, so gains relative to neighbours cancel out across a population, while adaptation quickly resets expectations to the new baseline.
  • Wealth increases happiness only for the rich, whose gains are statistically too small to move national averages.
Phrase

positional rather than absolute

1級読解詳細把握
⚡ひとことで

満足の多くは相対的（positional）で隣人との比較が相殺し合い、加えて adaptation が期待を新基準に再調整するため総量が増えない。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「Much satisfaction is positional, so gains relative to neighbours cancel out across a population, while adaptation quickly resets expectations to the new baseline.」

正解

本文は "Much of the satisfaction wealth confers is positional rather than absolute" と述べ、比較が "cancel out across a population" するため総量が増えないと説明する。さらに "Adaptation compounds the problem" として、昇給の喜びが期待の再調整で急速に消える点を加える。比較の相殺と適応の二機構を挙げた選択肢が正解。

  • 「People deliberately conceal their true happiness from survey-takers, which makes aggregate measurements systematically unreliable everywhere.」

    = 人々は調査で本心を隠すため測定が不正確 ━ 本文は測定の信頼性ではなく positional 比較と adaptation を理由に挙げる。

  • 「Rising incomes are invariably offset by equally rising taxes, so no one is ever materially better off.」

    = 所得増は常に増税で相殺され誰も豊かにならない ━ 本文は税に言及せず、相対比較と適応を機構とする。

  • 「Wealth increases happiness only for the rich, whose gains are statistically too small to move national averages.」

    = 富裕層のみ幸福が増え平均を動かさない ━ 本文は全員が豊かになる前提（universal enrichment）で比較が相殺すると説明。

▦Collocation
パターン意味例
positional rather than absolute絶対的でなく相対的Status goods are positional rather than absolute in value.
cancel out相殺されるAcross the group, the individual advantages cancel out.
compound the problem問題を悪化させるDelays compounded the problem of rising costs.
recalibrate around the baseline基準値を中心に再調整するExpectations recalibrate around each new baseline.
yield no aggregate gain総量としての利得を生まないAcross-the-board raises yield no aggregate gain in status.
❝例文

  • Satisfaction is often positional rather than absolute.

    満足はしばしば絶対的でなく相対的だ。

  • Relative advantages cancel out when everyone gains alike.

    全員が等しく得れば相対的優位は相殺される。

  • Adaptation resets expectations around the new baseline.

    適応は期待を新しい基準値の周りに再設定する。

  • The thrill of a raise dissipates with bewildering speed.

    昇給の高揚は驚くほど速く消える。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

「なぜ」を問う設問では本文が明示する因果メカニズム（ここでは比較の相殺＋適応）を選ぶ。税・隠蔽など本文にない要因は除外。

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