This PBS Production from 1997 about consumerism and its ill effects is interesting precisely because at that time, rampant, mindless ever increasing consumption was just part of the scenery.
No one was raising penetrating questions and concerns about our Western way of life at the time. If you want it -- buy it! If you can't afford it, put it on the credit card!
Gerald Celente, Juliet Schorr, David Korten and many more experts known for speaking the truth about the economy and society are featured here.
The Simple Life movement, frugality, the desire to live and work in a paradigm that does not emphasize money and purchasing goods and services -- that was really fringe as recently a 1997! Nobody thought the party would soon be over. No, that kind of thinking was for religious people, or hippies. It was associated with austerity and deprivation, maybe even some kind of defect, a "drop out" mentality -- not empowerment or common sense.
There are interesting historical views on saving vs. spending going back to the founding of the United States. David Shi, historian and author of The Simple Life tells us Roosevelt said that although he supported American Capitalism, he feared that if it were to develop unleashed that it would eventually create a corrupt civilization.
Enjoy this gem of a "retro" documentary, hosted by Scott Simon.