This was supposed to be a reply in another thread

The idea that money cannot "buy" happiness in this world (THE WAY IT IS STRUCTURED!) and all the superficial arguments behind it - is not only a bunch of bunk but an ideology that works to make people docile and willing to accept an increasingly harsh lifestyle and an increasing amount of stress and unrest.

Of course money CAN bring happinness, they EASE the way to happiness and they make life softer for even the sickest pessimist.
However, if the idea is that money are not a GUARANTEE for happiness - then that's another story. GUARANTEES exist only in Heaven.

If we stay within the paradigm of a stratified world (that is, a world where some people have a lot and are thus able to "whip" those who have nothing by withholding food from them if that becomes necessary), I believe that money are a blessing from God!

They are an alleviation of injustices and hardships that a lot of people (actually most people) in this world are subjected to.

As long as you are not a moron and as long as you understand what the REAL goodies are in life - then wealth (sudden or inherited) is a blessing. As simple as that.

The real goodies are your time and the ability to do whatever you want with it; the freedom to move whenever you want, wherever you want; and the chance to spend your life surrounded by your loved ones -
as opposed to drying up in an office, year after year, doing a bureaucratic job, in the company of impersonal individuals, in an impersonal environment, with a boss hovering over your head - and then spend whatever is left of your day in traffic.

The real goodies are being able to see your infant growing up as opposed to throwing him/her in daycare while you try to please a boss from 8 to 5.

The real goodies are being able to help and offer company to your family, friends or an elderly person in a nursing home; as opposed to becoming obssessed with your own little personal advancement. And the more obssessed you get, the clearer it becomes that no matter how much crap you add on your resume and no matter how much time you throw into your "career" (a very inflated word nowadays) - you are never quite THERE. There is always another nut even more obssessed than you are who will make you the loser in the rat race.
This may benefit the economy as a whole, but it won't benefit YOUR life.

The real goodies are not the cool car, the diamond rings, the gigantic house and the yacht. If you believe THESE are the "goodies" and you fall into sudden wealth - THEN you're screwed.

The brutal reality is that most people are forced to spend their lives AWAY from their loved ones, doing something that it is NOT the occupation they would choose if their lives didn't depend on a salary.
The majority of jobs today SUCK and the majority of people are NOT born with the business ideas/talents of a Bill Gates etc (or any other less dramatic example of a "self-made" person).

The brutal reality is that no matter how much love there is between you and your significant other, a lack of money, lack of time and the stresses that come with these two evils pose a mega-risk to your relationship. They pose a mega-risk to the peace and well-being of your children, to everything that people ultimately hold dear in life.

There is a reason why the rich look better, more rested, more relaxed, more laid-back, die later and have lower divorce rates (save the Hollywood bunch). There is a reason why they can be more generous not only with their money but also with their time; and sometimes even with their smiles.

I consider "rich" any family who does not worry about not being able to have a parent at home with their child, about how they are going to pay for a good college, what are they going to do if the working spouse is kicked out of a job, how are they going to pay for health insurance if one of the spouses must stay home with the child, etc.
People with enough "cushion" in a bank not to consider such worries - are rich.

And yes - the money they have DOES give them a ridiculously better shot at happiness compared to those who don't have them. It is as simple as that and it is easy to observe if you look at the world with objective eyes.

Just because there is a bunch of depressed rich people out there does not change the reality.