The obsession of economists with consumption as a measure of economic well-being has prevented us from understanding the true nature of economic well-being. We get very little satisfaction out of the fact that our clothing wears out, our automobiles depreciate, and the gasoline in our tanks burns up and must be replaced. The author is arguing that ['modern products are designed for early obsolescence', 'economic well-being cannot be defined solely in terms of consumption', 'valid measures of consumption cannot be devised', 'satisfaction is possible without consumption']