Voluntary Simplicity (by necessity)

Kohak makes a very valid point when he's busy condemning our consumer culture. He stresses that we are obsessed with buying the next great thing because we're hopelessly addicted to it like a drug. He uses the term "consumerism" to term the idea that consumption is the meaning of human life, and for so many, it seems to be. Instead of facing our problems, we go out and buy something, as if the act of consumption gives us purpose. Kind of sad, really. But how can one deny that our advertising culture is only exacerbating a problem we already have? We're so focused on having instead of being, and I think it's largely because we simply don't know how to be. People yearn for purpose, to feel useful and meaningful. When they feel purpose-driven in no other way, they can still consume, and advertisers think this is great,m and encourage us to go back to this obviously detrimental habit. How can we not term consumerism an addiction, when so many believe -perhaps unconsciously- that "increasing consumption will resolve all problems of personal life and of social existence alike?" And it's not even constrained to a personal level. Entire countries have this mentality and commonly term it as "progress." Why do we always need to be growing more, producing more, spending more? We know it can't go on forever. There is some maximum isn't there? A few hundred years ago, they termed this obsession manifest destiny. Now that we've run out of places to expand (because land and uninhabited space wasn't infinite) we've turned to something else to obsess over. Why is it that we must always be growing and never content with maintaining?
The idea of voluntary simplicity is something many Americans have a hard time grasping, but can be seen in glimpses of many European societies. The European approach to life seems to be decidedly slower-paced, more deliberate, and contented. I mean, children in French elementary schools are given at least an hour, if not two, for lunch. Nothing fancy or extravagant, but deliberate (compare that to the 20 minutes the average third grader is given to scarf down a lunchable). And the French government has a budget designated solely for flowers, not with the intention of being frivolous or anything, but because the people take pleasure in simple, beautiful things... like flowers. Now, I'm not saying the French have it all figured out by any stretch, but I think because their country is so much older than ours, that they've learned to be content with what they have, and not focused on expansion, consumption, growth, "progress", for its own sake. In reality, they have to be. Geographically, they have less room and, thus, a higher concentration of people. We have unplanned suburban development, urban sprawl, and room for annual crop rotation that The French, the English, the Italians just can't afford. Not everyone has a car (or two) simply because there isn't the room or resources. Heck, their refrigerators are even smaller (as are their waistlines, by the way). They have had to learn to be contented with less, and have obviously felt no deprivation because of it. Hopefully, our country will learn this at some point as well.