I'll play the part of the economist and say that this world would primarily be hungry and cold.
It would also be a world of half finished projects. Most people who do things just for the sheer joy of learning, challenge, art etc would lose interest in a task when the challenge is conquered.
>"What if we could have a world where work was the pursuit of intellectual growth rather than the pursuit of money? What would it be like?"
Non-existent, because people are greedy and will always want more than their fellow man. Even if /you/ don't personally, most of the people around you probably do.
This is the #1 reason I get depressed about this life.
If such a world wouldn't be a zero-sum game, then the greedy could have their wealth, and others could pursue other things, and those two goals wouldn't conflict.
Isn't that kind of how it is right now?
It mostly is, which is why, unlike OP, I don't see the reason for it to stop.