The American Way: More at All Costs

In modern America, "more" isn't just desirable; it's a cultural mandate. From early childhood onward, we are conditioned—through marketing, societal norms, and systemic incentives—to continually earn, spend, and accumulate. This ceaseless pursuit of consumption isn't just a lifestyle; it's a deeply ingrained psychological and economic paradigm that benefits corporate shareholders far more than it benefits consumers themselves.

Think about it. When was the last time you felt like you had "enough?" Isn't there always someone with a little bit more making you feel like you didn't quite make it? Research consistently shows that increased wealth does not reliably lead to long-term happiness due to a psychological phenomenon known as hedonic adaptation. According to a study published by Kahneman and Deaton (2010) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, while emotional well-being improves with income up to a certain threshold (approximately $75,000 annually at the time, likely closer to six figures at this point), beyond this point, additional income has little measurable impact on daily happiness (1). However, more recently, Killingsworth's 2021 research in the same journal (PNAS) suggests happiness may continue rising beyond this threshold, albeit more gradually, particularly as income enables more freedom and choice (2). The inherent systemic obstacles make wealth a determining factor in whether you can access the best doctors (medical concierge) or start your own business (access to capital).

Ultimately, true and lasting happiness is rooted less in financial abundance and more in meaningful relationships, personal fulfillment, and a sense of purpose—none of which can simply be purchased. They just want you to think you can buy it if you work hard enough for them.

Here, we'll discuss the why behind this psychological battle and how you can better react to it once you have an understanding of what is being done to you.

Conditioned to Consume

In American society, consumerism isn’t simply a behavior—it’s deeply embedded into our cultural and psychological fabric. From an early age, Americans are inundated with marketing messages designed to cultivate constant dissatisfaction, driving a perpetual cycle of spending. The average American encounters between 4,000 and 10,000 advertisements daily (3), each crafted to foster desires and insecurities that only consumer products claim to satisfy.

This is part of the reason why we feel so behind. It's what we've been taught.

Economist Juliet Schor, in The Overspent American, describes how consumer culture has reshaped our identities around spending and acquisition. Advertisements and social comparisons persuade Americans that personal worth, happiness, and social status depend significantly on what they own rather than who they are, fueling relentless consumption and debt.

The problem is - it doesn't work. When you think about the fact that only a handful of people in this country have come close to the goals we were told were attainable, it becomes clear why we believe the contract is broken. When it's more important to hit the best quarterly earnings call ever than it is to build a good product or pay your employees fairly, it's clear that we're being swindled.

Addressing this is difficult because the prices of core consumables keep increasing. We can cut down on luxuries, but no one can escape $10 eggs. This is one of the motivations behind tariffs: increase prices temporarily on the supply side, keep prices high forever on the demand side. Meanwhile, most of those tariffs will go conveniently missing before they ever get invested in our roads and schools.

Debt, Inequality, and Corporate Beneficiaries

The psychological drive to consume translates directly into a staggering economic cost for us and monstrous profits for them. The deal we agreed to was that some of those profits would "trickle down" and we would all be living in a CEO-led utopia. How do you think that's working out so far?

According to the New York Federal Reserve, American household debt reached a record $17.29 trillion by the end of 2023 (4). The primary sources of debt highlight precisely how embedded consumerism is:

• Mortgages: $12.48 trillion

• Student loans: $1.6 trillion

• Auto loans: $1.6 trillion

• Credit card debt: $1.08 trillion

Americans have as much student debt as they do automotive debt. Credit card debt is two-thirds of student and auto debt. This crisis disproportionately benefits large corporations and wealthy shareholders. As Oxfam reported, the richest 1% have captured nearly twice as much wealth as the rest of the world combined since 2020 (5). Corporate profits surge, driven by a culture of endless consumer spending and sustained by systemic structures that reward short-term shareholder value over equitable wage distribution.

Meanwhile, despite productivity increasing 74.4% since 1979, wages for the typical American worker have largely stagnated (6). This structural imbalance enriches corporations while exacerbating wealth inequality and deepening financial insecurity among average citizens.

The worst part is that this is all intentional. A captive worker is more malleable than someone with options, freedom and confidence.

The Psychological and Societal Cost—and How to Move Forward

Where do we go from here? First off is a complete restructuring of our relationship with money and happiness. The current mode of operation is not sustainable. We are already breaking, and companies and CEOs want more.

The relentless pursuit of more not only burdens individuals economically but also psychologically. Research by the American Psychological Association has demonstrated clear negative impacts of materialism on mental health, personal happiness, and relationship satisfaction (7). Higher levels of consumerism correlate strongly with increased anxiety, depression, and overall dissatisfaction, undermining the very happiness that advertisements promise. Couple this with the lax advertising laws that already exist in the United States and the dearming of consumer protection agencies, and we shouldn't expect to "feel better" without changing how we live.

Fortunately, alternative movements are gaining traction. Minimalism, mindfulness-based spending, and sustainable consumerism advocate redefining success beyond mere accumulation. By shifting our cultural narrative away from relentless consumerism and toward values such as well-being, community, and financial sustainability, Americans can begin to reclaim both economic and psychological freedom.

Ultimately, addressing our society’s consumer-driven culture requires recognizing the intentional conditioning that has shaped our spending behaviors, acknowledging the structural inequalities benefiting from this conditioning, and actively choosing a new, healthier path forward.

-yeenon