I'm with you on this Adam,
Joy is a far rarer beast than pleasure, and I have often pondered this myself. I think a concept you may not have considered in this is "externalisation". Why do we rush for pleasure, but not consider joy?
Pleasure is easier to get. We don't have to think, just buy the latest widget and we have pleasure, fleeting tho it is. Joy actually takes a bit of effort, not physical but mental effort to achieve. We feel joy when we are whole. When we can integrate ourselves fully and therefore see the world in a joyful way. I'm thinking on my feet here, so may not explain this properly.
What we see in modern society is pleasure seeking. We are told that if we buy x we will have pleasure. What i am conscious of is that every time we desire something (as opposed to genurine need, air, water, healthy food) we are externalising a psychological/emotional issue. What do I mean by externalising? I mean I am seeking something outside of myself that I am denying myself internally. For example, I drink alcohol when out with friends in the evening. While an extravert, I feel a bit shy in groups, and alcohol loosens me up. Many of us do this. We think drinking alcohol is fun, because alcohol loosens our inhibitions. Without going into all the stuff around alcohol, I've externalised my shyness into desire for alcohol. Rather than dealing directly with feeling shy, I have a drink. Having a drink is 'easier'. I would experience more joy by healing the aspect of me that feels shyness, but I get pleasure from a drink.
So I see joy (as you've defined it) as an output from personal growth/development. I also see it as the world's salvation, and I see it as what the bible, koran, buddhist writings etc all talk about.
I also see that the corporatist capitalist system we live in mitigates against joy by encouraging externalisation wherever it can occur. We could all be happy and healthy without needing drugs and hospitals. We would not feel the need for pizzas and french fries, or alcohol and drugs. We would not feel hatred and mistrust and jealousy. We would feel joy and they couldn't sell us much at all, because our desires for pleasure would be so much less.
CEO's would quake in their expensive shoes at the thought of us all feeling joy and therefore immune to their advertising! I look forward to the day. But for me, baby-steps, I'm giving up coffee tomorrow!!
Joy to you
Hazel
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