This is what free markets do. Famously, Boris Yeltsin abandoned communism not long after a visit to an American grocery store (see here for the details https://blog.chron.com/thetexican/2014/04/when-boris-yeltsin-went-grocery-shopping-in-clear-lake/). If I'm recalling the story correctly, he actually made two grocery store visits during his trip to the US. Khruschev made a similar visit to a Quality Foods supermarket in San Francisco during his 1959 visit to the United States, at the invitation of then President Dwight Eisenhower.
This topic is definitely important. People's tendency to use more than they need--whether that be food, clothing, or other consumer "goods"--creates problems for our society. Indeed, the environment suffers, shildren's perspectives on needs vs. wants suffer, adults voting habits suffer when they support candidates who merely promise to satisfy the voters' immediate desires. Growing up in a lower-middle class home, I learned to be careful about what I bought, although now that I'm an adult and have enough to live comfortably, indulgences also improve my mental and emotional state. Yet, I usually don't go overboard and am, generally, still aware of not wasting money. Would society improve if people recognized that mere consumerism, just immediately fleeting satisfaction, to the exclusion of lasting happiness, robs them of essential parts of their lives? Absolutely.
This is what free markets do. Famously, Boris Yeltsin abandoned communism not long after a visit to an American grocery store (see here for the details https://blog.chron.com/thetexican/2014/04/when-boris-yeltsin-went-grocery-shopping-in-clear-lake/). If I'm recalling the story correctly, he actually made two grocery store visits during his trip to the US. Khruschev made a similar visit to a Quality Foods supermarket in San Francisco during his 1959 visit to the United States, at the invitation of then President Dwight Eisenhower.
This topic is definitely important. People's tendency to use more than they need--whether that be food, clothing, or other consumer "goods"--creates problems for our society. Indeed, the environment suffers, shildren's perspectives on needs vs. wants suffer, adults voting habits suffer when they support candidates who merely promise to satisfy the voters' immediate desires. Growing up in a lower-middle class home, I learned to be careful about what I bought, although now that I'm an adult and have enough to live comfortably, indulgences also improve my mental and emotional state. Yet, I usually don't go overboard and am, generally, still aware of not wasting money. Would society improve if people recognized that mere consumerism, just immediately fleeting satisfaction, to the exclusion of lasting happiness, robs them of essential parts of their lives? Absolutely.