I see our present consumption crisis as yet another symptom of economic disparity in this country, where wage earners are bombarded, virtually 24x7, with images of thin, rich, beautiful, charming and successful people – the "upper", the "successful", the "American Dream" class.
In other words, our consumer centric economy, through advertising and media in general, falsely trains its lens primarily at the top of the capitalist pyramid, then replays those images to exploit the lower classes, inspiring meaningless consumption in a fallacious quest for "wealth," as seen on TV, in magazines and real life.
When, instead, we consumers could do better by ourselves and our system by simply admitting that the very nature of "capitalism" requires a rigid class hierarchy.
Unfortunately, it seems the necessity to accept this essential hierarchy has been forestalled in post World War II America by the myth of an American Dream which presupposes a lie over capitalist reality – of boundless and unlimited opportunity, available to anyone willing to assume ever higher risk in reaching for it.
Thus the underlying problem, leading to our present economic crisis/collapse of over-lending and over-borrowing – i.e. over-risk – is that the majority of Americans have not resolved basic emotional and class conflicts inherent in their system, instead substituting a "Dream" in their place. But until we do resolve these conflicts, over-reach and over-risk are destined to recur, as underling consumers resume a statistically improbable quest to get, or at least to feel, rich!
Traditionally, our churches have at least fostered class acceptance – e.g. "render unto Caesar..." and "be in the world, but not of the world", etc. But in America today, it seems the "Dream" has displaced formerly religious based class humility. This has led directly to our present confused, chaotic and perhaps collapsing version of capitalism.
Thus, our "crisis" only highlights a critical need – for a vast majority of Americans to stop fooling themselves and ultimately choose between Capitalism (and stability) or The American Dream (and inevitable overreaching collapse).
It’s really a Hobson's Choice, however, as it seems historically obvious that we are incapable of a degree of love and egalitarianism required to implement a third, arguably more evolved and humanistic system, of the kind espoused by thought leaders like Marx, Voltaire, Rousseau, Rimbaud, Pound, et al.
So, today, my advice for my country and my planet is this: Let’s get to the business of accepting the limitations of ourselves and our dominant economic system. Because the false hope of an American dream has become a self destructive religion leading to excessive risk taking and dangerous economic instability.
After nearly thirty years of Ronald Reagan’s trickle down capitalism, our "shining city upon a hill" is owned by one percent of us. The rest of us just work there. It's time for America to change that – or at least get used to it!