Most of our texts this semester have had a pessimistic view and implied that consumerism is going to be the (unavoidable) downfall of American society. However, the case studies within “Sustainable Lifestyles and the Quest for Plenitude” gave a more hopeful look at the future of consumerism in the United States. We tend to think that we need to buy to be happy, although the self-sustainers within this book are all totally satisfied not engaging in modern-day consumerism. If we have learned anything this semester it’s to not always assume that consumerism is helping the economy, but the people in this book definitely seem to be having a positive impact.
