Definition: “content” noun, what is inside something else; the details of; a field of study; part, element
“content” adjective, satisfied; fulfilled
When is enough, enough? How much do we need to be contented? How much content do you need for contentment? How long does your contentment last?
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary this word is from the Middle English derived from Latin continēre “to hold together, restrain, have as contents, rest satisfied”. 1
If contentment is related to what is contained “content” how much is enough? In our article under Economics/Productivity, we have a table showing the growth in productive capacity per person from $92.50 a year in 1 CE (AD) to 2020’s $8,968.36 per person. In each of the top five countries with the highest per capita GDP (gross domestic product), the GDP per hour worked by the workforce ranges from $85 in Norway to $119 in Ireland. Remember, 2,000 years ago the total annual value per person was less than $93 for the entire year.
In economics, contentment is measured by how successful a good or service is in producing the desired satisfaction of a perceived need. This is referred to as “Utility” meaning how useful that object is in fulfilling the desire.2 Economics has elaborate ways of measuring or quantifying Utility but for our purposes, let’s use a broader criteria: What does it take to give you an enduring sense of peace that you are satisfied with what you have to meet your needs?
Economically, how much money do you need to have to have everything you perceive as essential to meet your sense of need? To have enough food, shelter and clothing to feel satisfied? Are there basic elements beyond these three essential categories that you must have to be content? Do you require friends and family as part of your life? Do you require meaningful employment both for income and as a sense of fulfillment and well-being? Do you require respect and acknowledgment from your acquaintances and peers before you feel complete? Do you need to feel successful in activities, sports or influencing of others? How many Followers do you need on Facebook to feel worthwhile?
Hmm. So it does take “more” to be content. Simply having some content (noun) isn’t enough – you want more to be content (adjective). Is your contentment relative to what you have compared to what those around you have? Or do you want even more – maybe as much as a celebrity has or that last person to win the Mega Lottery?
Is your measure of your life’s value, your contentment quotient, measured by what you have or by who you are? Do you have trouble separating looking at yourself apart from what you have possessed rather than who you have become as a person? And, are you putting as much life-energy into becoming who you intend to be beyond what you insist on possessing? Is Enough what I have or who I am? How much more is Enough?
Question: Am I creating a life for myself of discontentedness that can only be felt as the Poverty of Enough? We’ll visit this more in the future. After we all think on it a little while more.
FOOTNOTES:
1 “Content.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/content. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility
