Contentment Capitalism (intro)

Here's an idea that I've talked about before (and is the basic idea of love and compassion in both the Christian and Buddhist worldviews.) I'll just call it contentment capitalism.

The background
Capitalism's premise is this: benefiting yourself benefits the whole. Economically this means that you earn as much as you can, you spend, and the economy benefits giving you more to spend. It's a self-perpetuating cycle. This is what our economy is based on (or atleast started off as.)

The proposition
I propose the same idea for happiness and contentment (actually it's not really my idea). So basically, we get "filled up" and from here we get the desire to fill others up (and not take advantage of/put down/kill them.)

The problem
I'm sort of wondering out loud here, but I'm just wondering if most people who are trying to change the world for the better are missing out on something? People who are discontented should perhaps focus on the discontent and unhappiness and insecurity and fear within themselves. Turn the looking glass in first.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Jesus in Matthew 7:3, NIV)

With a little below-surface thought, I hope you can see that sometimes going out of your way to so something for someone else can be a selfish act. I don't think, then, that it's much of a leap to see that meditation (which increases contentment, mindfulness, and compassion) can be a gift to those who are immediately affected by the meditator. Indeed, many buddhists believe in meditation as an act of humanitarianism!

You got any beef?
If you're into politics, you can see that this is sort of a rough translation from the conservative's view of economics- thus, I think it might be a bit easier for a conservative to stomach. For the one who's been supporting government programs to help- this may seem like a stretch- that the good of the poor man you see might be increased by you being happier. Instead of being forced to give him money, you could have a conversation with him- acknowledging him as an equal. You could give him respect instead of a dollar. Which one do you think you would rather have even if you were poor? Has the American corellation of material comfort and happiness got to you?
Mother Teresa said, "There is more hunger in the world for love and appreciation in this world than for bread." Is that so farfetched?

I'm running short on time, but I feel there is more to be written about this: specifically in one area: Contentment, happiness, and today's misconception on how to get it. Let me just say that the misconception is HUGE. It pervades everything we've ever been taught as Americans and takes time and energy to really grasp the truth about it- to get out of the worldview. This misconception lies very very deep in the Western subconscious (it's not just materialism) and I don't feel I have the time or energy right now to begin to grapple with it.

-Brett