No political force, including the Workers Party in Brazil or the Zapatistas in Mexico, have been able to pull up this anchor and replace it with an alternative conception of progress. Until they or others do, discontent is the social norm accompanying private accumulation at all cost. It is just surprising that the Economist would bother with the normal. It is the bubble and perk of rising expectations. Greed, after all, has been normal for centuries among the thin veneer of the wealthy in Latin America.
Mere accumulation is nothing new.
Now, however, the masses are beginning to see a motor scooter, a hair-do, a meal in a restaurant, as possible of achievement. These are indeed revolutionary changes of expectation, and they are certainly leading to huge upheavals, of which urbanization is the largest and most visible. If this hope for material progress gives some protection against the marauding Shining Path, Zapatistas, and other gun-wielding savages, this is a good thing. Put this way it draws attention to the usefulness of cutting off toys for boys, in order to lessen the attractiveness of the lifestyle of the other bunches of gun-wielding savages, the armed forces. I don't see why Mark is surprised at the Economist paying attention.