Capital should serve the people, people shouldn't serve capital, just increasing GDP should not be the goal in of itself. Obviously sound economic policy should be a concern of the government, and policy should be centered on serving the national interest. As far as happiness, absolutely, part of the role of government is being proper stewards of society by providing order and continuity and maintaining/growing social capital. Increased prosperity is good of course, but not all "economic" growth is, and can in some cases be very anti-social and erode social capital. Economic "growth" that erodes social capital and fractures society should be mitigated. Examples of this would be for example curbing immigration. While it may improve profit margins for some, and perhaps increase GDP, it lowers the wages of labor and forces more onto the social safety net, it also drains that safety net. Another example would be commercial development or large scale resource extraction on natural preserves, lowering quality of life for many for the monetary gain of some. Another example would be a local community having zoning ordinances prevent large scale development in their area to prevent overcrowing. I think all these are examples where should come in to curb the excesses of capitalism. Usury is a last and final example, it creates wealth disparity and unsustainable debt while enriching, lowering the overall standard of living while creating a financial oligarchy. However, I would at the same time things like high and burdensome taxation that discourage investment, job creation, and the formation of independent wealth. Another example would shifting towards a workfare as opposed to a welfare system and standing against large scale nationalization of industry.
Perhaps it is too much to hope that we get beyond dogmatic capitalism and dogmatic socialism.
