But in the world of consumer advertising and consumer purchasing, no evil is moral. The evils consist of high prices, inconvenience, lack of choice, lack of privacy, heartburn, hair loss, slippery roads. This is no surprise, since the only problems worth advertising solutions for are problems treatable through the spending of money. But money cannot solve the problem of bad manners-the chatterer in the darkened movie theater, the patronizing sister-in-law, the selfish sex partner-except by offering refuge in an atomized privacy. And such privacy is exactly what the American Century has tended toward.
( Jonathan Franzen )
[ How to Be Alone: Essays ]
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