We Are, Most Essentially, Consumers?

This is sad. Look what we've become. I can't help but think that most of us in old age will look back on our lives in despair, seeing only ads and money and consumption, and a dark, bottomless void where something substantial and life giving should have been. Could Confucius have anticipated something like this? I suppose he would just say this is a natural result of a myopic focus on the self, and a slavish attachment to our goods. Maybe we could all use a good shot of the Confucian virtues--filiality, devotion, respect, humanity or benevolence, and reverence for social welfare.