ALL of these people completely miss the point and are reading the wrong books. Yes, material possessions is important - but that's just a SYMBOL of what is going on.
I am a naturalist, and believe that men will be happier as they get promoted up the social ladder or find comfort in their current standing therein. Men who are "alpha males" - successful men in power that lead the tribe and have followers - are the types who have achieved, and deserve their happiness. It is earned. Often times, that comes later in life.
The material possessions these fucking idiots talk about are SYMBOLS of said earned success that I mention.
Women, however, in the natural world, are picked over at early ages (by the above alpha males), and by the middle ages are naturally relatively useless to society. Deep down, they may start to know this. Menopause isn't something women of many species have had to ever deal with as animals typically die off before it happens. But now we prolong it, and it's gotta be depressing. Don't know from experience though.
Required reading:
The Red Queen
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Red-Queen-Evolution-Human-Nature/dp/0060556579/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282263747&sr=8-2]Amazon.com: The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature (9780060556570): Matt Ridley:…[/ame]