Beautiful family, @monkimo!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I dig your thought experiment. On a practical level, I think it is absolutely needed in this time. Each one of us is needed, and we each need to embrace a story that honors one's uniqueness and special gifts, and helps one feel called to live in service to others .
On the other hand, I think that the story "the universe loves us and will provide for you" is a very privileged story to be able to hold. I'm glad that you have this outlook, and that your family benefits from it. And I think you're lucky... I wish all people had that.
Where I think this story can be dangerous is that it has the potential to be used in a manipulative way, or to minimize or invalidate the very real inequalities that exist in our world...
I mean, even in our seemingly very affluent country, 1 in 6 children worry about their next meal. For those born into the roughest of situations, unsafe places, and/or without access to sustenance, and/or without access to positive role models, it seems they will have to get very lucky to come to a place where they can embrace this story.
That's why I think the thought experiment of the original position and justice as fairness are so important. Because it is how much of a chance for health and happiness that these folks, the least privileged, have, that turns out to be the measure of a society's success in providing social justice.
Your point that measuring "wealth" or happiness by money is way inadequate is well-taken. There are so many other measures of a happy life, you don't necessarily need to have money to have good food, good company, good life, and measuring by "wealth" definitely misses this. If we could collectively utilize a better way to measure "wealth," or "who is worst-off," maybe we'd make some real traction in this very important issue, and maybe we'd be better at building long-term solutions for providing the best lives for absolutely everyone.