Growth Machines

A provocative look at Americaâs compulsion to consume and our obsessionâs surprisingâ"and strangeâ"origins. In a capitalist society, people sell their labor to purchase staples like food, shelter, and anxiety medication. Thatâs the equation of everyday economic life that weâve always been told is true. Except, is it really that simple anymore? No matter how unmaterialistic you may think you are, odds are that deep within is a drive to consume because it feels good: books you wonât read, clothes you wonât like and might wear even less, a replacement phone whose novelty runs out as quickly as its upgrade hits the market. But what drives this impulse?In Growth Machines, Mark Joseph Stelzner shows how todayâs consumers are now programmed by a US economy intent on infinite growth to work for goods theyâve been convinced they need and conditioned to want. Stelzner establishes the gaps between economic thinking and economic reality, arguing that consumption is no longer just a reflection of needs, but rather, it reflects a need for transactionâ"in many cases, a treat we seek out because it feels good. We work not only to be able to consume the essentials for living, but also to consume for consumption's sake. Yet such consumption doesnât make us happier.  Stelzner traces this strange nature of consumption to an environmental source: an economy that demands growth. To keep its economy pumping, the US must keep Americans consuming. This makes Stelznerâs book an uncomfortable reflection on how we internalize our economy. To be an American is to consume; to consume is what makes America.