Our society surrounds us with a great cloud of enticement. Wherever we turn, we confront the claim that happiness is just around the corner, a matter of having more or better or newer things. The father of American capitalism certainly endorsed this creed. John D. Rockefeller, when asked what would make him happy, is said to have replied, “One dollar more.” Our economy relies on such unstinting desire. In the sad aftermath of September 11, 2001, when many Americans, stunned with grief, seemed to lose their taste for spending, President Bush personally urged the public to get up and go shopping.
