Conservative Southern Values Revived: How a Brutal Strain of American Aristocrats Have Come to Rule

[RainDog]

77. we're all complicit

even when we try to make choices that don't exploit - it's impossible.

however, I do have to say that in other parts of the western world where I have lived or visited - you just don't see the sorts of consumption that you have in the U.S. in terms of the size of houses, cars, appliances, the size of individual items for sale... I think we sort of do lead the world in the bigger/better mindset - though the housing crisis seems like it's correcting some of the Real Estate McMansion madness that went on - SUVs aren't as popular anymore b/c of fears about gas prices and job issues - obviously there are outliers among the extremely wealthy, but avg. citizens don't think their liberty is denied to use light rail or trains and people live in smaller dwellings without sacrificing a thing other than fuel bills.

what you also don't see in those other places - or maybe it's a matter of degrees - is the astounding poverty and opportunity b/c they have social safety nets that provide health care, education and job training.