So, I'm in Yosemite this week, talking to a Dutch Woman there with her family

[JDPriestly]

48. Decadence is our problem.

Marks of our decadence include

1) thinking we can survive as a "consumer" rather than producer or at least a conservation-minded economy.

2) thinking we can import more than we export year after year

3) excessive gambling for "fun" and "thrills" (that was, for example, a sign of decadence in France and England in the 18th century)

4) the widespread belief that investment, that is, "owning" things as opposed to working or managing work is an economically viable lifestyle

5) not cooking and growing our own food combined with a monoculture in agriculture (too large a share of our crops is corn)

6) destroying the environment without a thought for the future

7) replacing morality and justice with military power in our strategy in dealing with other nations

8) not providing for the poor and weak

9) excessive class division

All signs of decadence in my view.