Perhaps we need to use the money to make others happy first (such as clean water in some needy places on earth), then the money probably would make us happy concurrently.
Money doesn't make you happy - being around people whom you respect and care about makes you happy. With that said, all of us need different things to make us feel secure with ourselves and our place in the world. Once we are confident in ourselves - and only then - are we able to look externally and to open ourselves up to others. For me, I simply cannot be happy without money. It's the necessary condition to my happiness. I don't spend a lot of money or have lavish things, but, having money makes me feel deserving of OTHER things in life - specifically people who strike my fancy. If you were a painter who was stuck toilling in obscurity, discussing your professional life (and lack of success as of yet) might be a tender issue. If that same painter, recieved some level of acclaim - even if he made no money from it - my guess is that he would feel more secure in his personal life and might use his accomplishments as a painter to intrigue those whom he attempts to win over. Same thing with money - since it's a scorecard, it's a quanitifiable external reality that tells YOU that you have accomplished something. Perhaps others value that, but maybe they don't. The question is how having money makes you feel about your own life and accomplishments and how you then present yourself to the world as a consequence of feeling that way.
if you ask me, all this well-intentioned help, did nothing to make anyone happy. look at africe, lots a help trying to westernize the continent, but if you ask me, the natives would have been happier without us westerners.
I am not sure about "most universally accepted measuring stick". there are many many other things that can make you feel secure enough to believe you have something to offer to other people.
Just because you don't accept it, doesn't mean that it isn't universally accepted in capitalist society. I'd like to hear your case arguing that money is not the single most universally accepted measurement of accomplishment in a capitalist society. Incidentally, the fact that I edited my post to omit that line, is no reflection on the quality of the original comment - I just felt it was rambling a bit. Kinda like I am now...
i say if you're not happy with money then you have no real use for it. give the average man 5 mil, he can use that... give him 500 mil, and now he has a problem. just ask bill gates who said he needs the rest of his life to figure out how to distribute his wealth.
I am like this dude.....its more the feeling of kickin the markets ass each day that makes me happy not how much money i made...however...i use the amount of money i made to quantify just how badly i kicked (or was kicked) the markets ass! Also im pretty happy when im usen the money in fun ways like buyin a new car....buyin a new house....snortin coke of a hookers ass....hhhmmmm.....yes.....me happy!