Edit: I found the comment: 'I bet that 9 times out of 10, "I need more money" should really be rephrased as "I need less stuff"'. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2025234
Edit: I found the comment: 'I bet that 9 times out of 10, "I need more money" should really be rephrased as "I need less stuff"'. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2025234
Obviously, this doesn't need to mean spending 5k on the biggest TV, and doesn't mean outstretching yourself on a huge mortgage for a McMansion. But, if you save a little less and tactically spend on things that will make you happier I think that is definitely worth it. This isn't a huge defense of "stuff," but I think it's also okay to lose some wealth to gain happiness. I personally like spending money on travel/experiences. There was a lifehacker article about that yielding increased happiness.
Link: http://lifehacker.com/5608980/spend-on-experiences-instead-o...
Generally I think acquisitiveness is fine as long as it doesn't come at society's expense. But, I also think a lot of benign-seeming acts by acquisitive people come at a subtle significant cost to society; e.g., supporting the repeal of the estate tax.
I see nothing unjust about an arbitrary amount of acquisitiveness. I don't think success, or its material reward, are inherently sinful. I do think it's unhealthy to be obsessed with acquisition for its own sake, as opposed to when one has healthy intentions for that which is being acquired; but in any case, that's nothing to do with the collective good to which you refer.