econ
Explanation
The Joke
A woman asks an economist whether economics has "enlightened" him. He enthusiastically says "Absolutely!" and explains that he used to think he needed to be rich to be happy. The interviewer begins a sympathetic "Aww, that's--" expecting a heartwarming realization, but he finishes with the punchline: "Turns out I just need everyone else to be poor!"
The Humor
The comic takes a sharp jab at the economic concept of relative wealth and status. There is genuine research in behavioral economics showing that people's sense of well-being is heavily influenced by how they compare to those around them -- people would rather earn less in absolute terms if it means earning more relative to their peers. The economist in the comic has internalized this finding in the most cynical way possible: rather than using the insight to find contentment, he concludes that the path to happiness is ensuring others are worse off. It is a pointed satire of how economic knowledge can be twisted to justify selfishness, and of the broader tendency in economics to reduce complex human values to utility calculations.