林中斌 部落格 / Blog Chong-Pin Lin

阿拉曼是十世紀西班牙柯多巴地區的國王，統治50年後， 回憶說： “這輩子，我享盡權力榮華。當我細數真正快樂地日子後，算出共有14天。”

2004年，兩位經濟學家對16,000位美國成年男女做私密問卷調查：請問過去一年您有多少位性伴侶，您覺得快樂嗎？” 兩位學者統計後發現：最快樂的伴侶數目是一。

此篇作者是美國華府中央偏右智庫“美國企業研究所”總裁，原芝加哥大學研究慈善事業的教授Arthur Brooks。該所中央偏右(保守)，曾是資本主義、新保守主義的重鎮，一向支持台灣。我曾於1987-1995任該所專任學者/亞洲研究部副主任。

                                            林中斌  2004年7月25日

ABD AL-RAHMAN III was an emir and caliph of Córdoba in 10th-century Spain. He was an absolute ruler who lived in complete luxury. Here’s how he assessed his life: “I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot: They amount to 14.”

In 2004, two economists looked into whether more sexual variety led to greater well-being. They looked at data from about 16,000 adult Americans who were asked confidentially how many sex partners they had had in the preceding year, and about their happiness. Across men and women alike, the data show that the optimal number of partners is one.

This excellent article was written by the president of American Enterprise Institute, a center-right think tank in Washington D.C., one time a bastion of capitalism and neo-conservatism. Arthur Brooks was previously a Chicago University professor doing research on philanthropy. I served as resident scholar and associate director of the Asian Studies Program at AEI between 1987 and 1995.

                                                                                    Chong-Pin Lin, July 25, 2014