I think you are saying wealth == happiness. And from the vantage-point of someone without wealth, that may seem true. But any person with wealth will tell you t

I think you are saying wealth == happiness. And from the vantage-point of someone without wealth, that may seem true. But any person with wealth will tell you that wealth does not bring happiness or ego or confidence -- all of those are only achieved from within. You can purchase more things that take a lot of time to make, and you can not worry about money issues, but you can't buy happiness. I'm not sure if there is more global happiness today than there was in Sumerian times; I would imagine there is. As you mentioned though, happiness seems to be relative, so it's pointless to complain about since it's a fundamental human limitation. "The fact that most people imagine it would be paradise to never have to work does not make the experience any more pleasant in practice." -- http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/04/secret-fears-of-the-super-rich/8419/?single_page=true http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/04/secret-f...