July 11, 2008: "Denmark world's happiest country, survey finds"

Denmark world's happiest country, survey finds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Denmark, with its democracy, social equality and peaceful atmosphere, is the happiest country in the world, researchers said on Monday.

So there you have it, the happiest place on earth. Not surprisingly its not America. According to the article happiness seems to root from democracy and being able choose what to do with your life. That seems simple enough for me to believe. The interesting part of this article for me came when the issue of money came up. Denmark is not close to being the richest country, but is still the happiest.
I have read plenty of articles how money can make you happy. The most eye catching where those which said only spending money on others can make someone happy. This also makes complete sense. So are the people of Denmark not the richest because they spent it on others. Doubtful cause they would have probably spent it on other countrymen so the money would have stayed in the country. If the citizens of the richest country took all their money and gave it to the people around them, shouldn't that make them the happiest country?

So if i give my possessions away with the intent of making myself happy, is that generosity or selfishness?

Thank you Maggie Fox and Yahoo News.