Caveat emptor...

Capitalism and democracy were once complimentary, a long, long time ago, when markets were about producing goods that met human needs. Today, "needs" must be created: Producers and marketers of goods and services have to convince those with money to buy them. In a never-ending effort to make consumption the centerpiece of every American's existence, marketers have succeeded in infantilizing adults. We're increasingly governed by impulse.

(from a Washington Post review of Benjamin Barber's Consumed)