The modern industrial economy works like this: Resources are dug from a hole in the ground on one side of the planet, used for a few weeks, then dumped in a hole on the other side of the planet. This is known as the "creation of value." The creation of value improves our quality of life. Improvements in our quality of life make us happier. The more we transfer from hole to hole, the happier we become.

现代工业经济是这样运作的：资源被从地球一端的洞里挖出后，用上几星期后，又被倒入地球另一端的一个洞里。这就是所谓的“创造价值”。价值的创造提高了我们的生活质量，从而使我们更加幸福。我们从一个洞运到另一个洞的东西越多，我们就越幸福。

   Unfortunately, we are not yet transferring enough. According to the Worldwatch Institute, we have used more goods and services since l950 than in all the rest of human history. But we still don't seem to be happy. Over the same period, 25-year-olds in Britain have become 10 times more likely to be afflicted by depression. One in four British adu1ts now suffers from a lack of sleep, and one fifth of school children have psychological problems. Over the past l3 years, mental health insurance claims have risen by 36 per cent.

不幸的是，我们运送的还远远不够。根据世界观察所的调查，自1950年以来，我们消费的商品和接受的服务比人类有史以来任何时间的消费总量都要多。但是我们看起来仍然不那么幸福。在上述同一时期内，英国25岁的年轻人患忧郁症的机率增加了10倍；有四分之一的成年人睡眠不足；还有五分之一的学龄儿童存在心理障碍。在过去的13年里，精神保险的索赔率增加了36%。

    American studies suggest that between 40 and 60 per cent of the population suffers from mental illness in any one year. 

    The World Health Organization predicts that by 2010 depression wi1l become the second most common disease in the developed world. Unless we start consuming in earnest, we'll never experience real joy.

美国的研究表明，每年有40%到60%的人患有精神疾病。

世界卫生组织预测，到2010年，忧郁症在发达国家中将成为第二大常见疾病。除非开始实行审慎的消费，否则我们永远也不可能体会到真正的快乐。

    At this time of year the rate of consumption rises dramatically. To make ourselves happier, we move resources from one hole to another as quickly as possible.My local authority reports that the amount of rubbish people takes to the dump increases by 12 per cent in December and January. Curiously, however, the incidence of depression also seems to rise. Calls to a telephone help line increase by 8 per cent between Christmas and New Year's Day. But the figures are misleading. The more depressed we are, the more we spend on alcoho1. The more we spend, as any economist will explain to you, the happier we become.

    每年这个时候人们的消费大幅度上升。为了使我们更加幸福，我们尽快的把资源从一个洞转移到另一个洞。

据我所在的当地政府报道说，在12月和1月两个月间，人们倾倒垃圾的数量增加了12%。然而，奇怪的是忧郁症病例看起来也在增加。圣诞节到元旦期间，热线咨询增加了8%。这些数字把我们引入歧途。我们越忧郁，就会花越多的钱买酒喝；而花得钱越多，正如经济学家们所说，也就越高兴。