The pervasive myth about our consumer choices

Our task is to earn money, spend it, and compete with one another to climb society’s ladder. Along the way, we express our personality and our vitality by making choices: these choices represent our power, and make us who we are. We pride ourselves on being self-reliant and liberated, the creators of our own destiny.

what keeps the so-called consumer society going is the fact that trying to find yourself through things doesn’t work: The ego satisfaction is short-lived and so you keep looking for more, keep buying, keep consuming.