Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-98) and index.

Consumer culture harms society / Benjamin Barber, interviewed by Kimberly Palmer -- Consumer culture benefits society / Howard Bloom -- Consumer culture harms children and teens / Madeline Levine -- Teen spending habits have changed / Natalie Zmuda -- Rejecting consumerism is beneficial / Robert Llewellyn -- Rejecting consumerism is not realistic / Tim Cavanaugh -- High socio-economic status causes depression / Peter Dodson -- Advertising is to blame for overconsumption / Jean Kilbourne -- Human instinct is to blame for overconsumption / John Naish -- American consumers are becoming more careful spenders / Noreen O?Leary -- What you should know about consumer culture -- What you should do about consumer culture.