And a great deal of it is only because we have been conditioned to "consume" things we don't really need. Consider the fashion industry, to take a somewhat arb

And a great deal of it is only because we have been conditioned to "consume" things we don't really need. Consider the fashion industry, to take a somewhat arbitrary example. I don't mean the clothing industry -- most of us would agree we need clothing -- but the fashion industry, which exists not to clothe us but to convince us to constantly buy new and different clothing, because otherwise we won't be seen as "cool" or "fashionable" or "successful" enough. And it's not the only such case.