It started centuries ago with land. Today it is encroaching upon every aspect of our individual and collective beings. Think about the growth industries today. We buy looks from plastic surgeons, mental outlooks from pharmaceutical companies, the activity of our bodies from 'health' clubs, interaction with friends from telecommunications firms, and on and on. Security comes from police departments, insurance companies and privatized prisons.
Transport comes from oil and automobile companies.
Virtually every life function and process is turning into something we have to buy. And lest anyone suspect a tired ideological shtick, let's say right here that the government is a culprit too. Either way, what the economists call growth becomes a process of cannibalization. The formal economy, private and public sectors alike, takes us apart piece by piece and then sells us back to ourselves. We must become less so that the economy can become more.