Slaves of "The Market"

I am finding Paul Stiles' book Is The American Dream Killing You? a good summary of how we in America ended up where we are. We worship "The Market" for bringing us prosperity and jobs. We talk as if it were an unstoppable all-powerful force. We thank it for great blessings and opportunities, yet when we look behing the cover, we find we are being buried by it.

The book says, "The last thing the Market wants you to do is see beyond its limited horizons to the ultimate questions of who and what we are, where we came from, and where we are headed. All such matters are overlooked or made fun of....They cause people to lead a simple life, a life centered on reflection, on contemplation, on learning, and on family and friends, rather than on consumption....The last thing the Market wants us to know is the most obvious: We are mortal. We arise from we know not what, return to the same, and spend only the shortest time in between. Who will work an eight-hour week for that Euro sedan once he realizes that?"

Exactly. The capitalist marketplace, once key to strong communities, has bubbled up out of control. Let us recognize this and realign ourselves with the real live human beings around us. We need people. We don't need to work so hard to buy so much junk.