Consumerism

I'm starting to read through "Man in the Mirror" with a few other guys. In Chapter 2 the writer explains the history, logic, and consequences (statistically) of Consumerism as an economic system and its impact on our culture.
The basic principle emerged in the wake of WWII as economists worked to keep the US economy growing in the absence of the demands that the war effort had placed on the nation. (wars are incredibly expensive.. and consequently a great deal of money is to be made... this is not a reflection on war itself). They believed that the only way to maintain growth was to maintain a growing level of product consumption. People had to buy more than what they actually needed. It was around this time that a shrewd businessman connected with a curious and entrepreneuarial (yes that's spelled wrong) psychological community. They began to study what motivates us. They began to experiment with actually doing it. What was born was the infancy of the out-of-control marketing industry that we face today. I suspect that there is no way to trully know the degree to which we as individuals think and function differently because of the inflences of advertising. (part of me gets really excited about how all that works) The advertiser's job is to convince us that we aren't satisfied until we have whatever it is they are being paid to sell!
It makes so much sense... and at the very same time its fallacies are blindingly clear. Consumerism can only work in a culture that allows lying to be normal. Consumerism invites us to believe things that are easy to believe on one hand... and mercilessly cruel on the other. That we all "deserve" the perfect life.... but we are never allowed to actually get there.
Deserve is a word that can only be used in connection with pride.
A perfect life has only happened one time... and it didn't look anything like a skin-cream ad.