From Proust and Santayana: The Aesthetic Way of Life (1937), by Van Meter Ames.

People like Proust and Santayana who have discovered contemplation do not envy those absorbed in position and possession, for the aesthetic way of life leads to deeper happiness than the acquisitive way. If men are to give up money-making and power-seeking as their aim they must be converted to the other outlook which involves a transvaluation of values; and if contemplation and aesthetic enjoyment could become popular the Gordian knot in which our social order is tied might be cut. If most people found their joy in goods which cost nothing but appreciation, physical wealth would not be coveted beyond necessity and its fair distribution might no longer be hampered by greed.