What appears to keep economies growing is the ever present desire in most people, rich or poor, to desire strongly to have "more". That is to say, many successful people want even more money, or more prestige, or more material things, or more status, or more of this or more of that, it is always more, more, more. Those that don't have much of anything also want more, because they have so little to begin with, and aspire to accelerate themselves out of their current unfortunate circumstances.
This desire for more, to have more, is probably for the most part, beneficial for motivation, however, misapplied or taken to obsession like levels it most definitely is not, for if you see the world as a world of limited resources, or of finite limits, than one recognizes implicitly that the more that you get, the less that is available for others to get, and this type of selfishness, is not beneficial for the person trying to get it all, nor is it beneficial for those that are on the "losing" end.
One way to recognize the fundamental flaw of getting it all, is to understand that if one person, or group of people, were to functionally have everything, and by everything, this means that there isn't anything else worth getting, than knowing that they now have everything, rather than bringing them complete satisfaction, peace, and serenity, would instead bring the fear that their lives were now being lived in recognition, since they now have it all, that they will now and forever into the future, only have less, because there is no more to get, and knowing that there is nothing left but unlimited downside, this becomes functionally debilitating to them.
This would signify that the desire to have more, more, more, is a fundamentally flawed premise, for to have all of any particular thing, means that rather than relaxing and enjoying the luxury of your given position or status, you instead, are worried about losing what it is that you have strived so hard to obtain, by means fair or foul, leaving you with less, less, less, for there is no more to get or obtain.
So that, someone of wisdom, must then recognize that to have everything, cannot possibly be the answer to the most meaningful question in life, for to have all, means ultimately that you must destroy all, in order to never lose back or share what you have already won. This then signifies that perhaps the most liberating way to look upon life is not that we wish to own or to have everything, but rather that we are most free of the limitations and paradox of having everything , if we do not get attached to this world as the be-all and end-all of everything, for it surely, cannot be.
This means that if your happiness depends upon things that are ephemeral such as all material things, including physical things and the feelings that these invoke; recognize that that happiness cannot and will not sustain itself, for it is, despite whatever length of time, ultimately transitory and temporary. So if you want it all you will never obtain it, and your personal cycle of despair will never be broken until you finally recognize that you are actually on the wrong path which cannot ever be made right by being on it, for the very path that you need to be on, is the path that brings wholeness, oneness and unity with the universal consciousness which is limitless, timeless, and eternal.