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> You equate human happiness and spiritual fulfillment with material possessions.
Quite to the contrary, I have made it implicit in the last paragraph of my first post that they are different things but under specific circumstances an increase in one can increase another. It is possible for a very poor population to grow happier once life is made easier and softer by material prosperity. Simple things like having sewage, electricity and running water can make a lot of difference. And for the uneducated, gaining access to knowledge can certainly bring spiritual fulfillment.