The Limits of Consumption Deepening: Why Consuming More Makes Us Poorer - American Affairs Journal

The Limits of Consumption Deepening: Why Consuming More Makes Us Poorer - American Affairs Journal

Today’s consumer capitalist societies present us with a paradox: We are told year in and year out that living standards are rising, but many people—especially younger people—can feel their quality of life decline as time goes on. This feeling is palpable and can be seen in the hardest of the quality of life indices, such as the suicide rate and the rates of drug addiction and overdose. Noneconomic measures show a large decline in quality of life…