Cultural distress (and consumerism)

From this point on, growth was not just good, but the primary aim of political and social systems. We all know now where that has taken us, but some saw it early, including the economist and retail analyst Victor Lebow in 1955: Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of

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Before consumerism became so dominant, people generally acquired things because they needed them. And they bought things that were practical and durable and dependable. Today people tend to buy things, not so much because they need them, but because they want them. And they don’t buy practical things to use; they buy things that project an image. W

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