Ken Wentworth

'There are various viewpoints on the effects of consumerism. William Leiss rejects the true-needs/false-needs dichotomy, observing that all needs are cultural and that there are no fundamental or true needs, making it impossible to categorise some human desires as more natural and more justifiable. He is interested in the ungovernability of needs, and states that even with an increased global awareness of ecological limits, humans are still attributed with a natural drive or Faustian impulse to find true happiness: 'There is no apparent end to the escalation of demand and no assurance that a sense of contentment or well-being will be found in the higher reaches of material abundance'.'

Finkelstein, J. & Goodwin, S. The Sociological Bent; Inside metro culture. (Nelson Australia Pty Limited, 2005.)