Ahh! Yes. I absolutely love this. So many great reminders.

LOVE this! Well written and offers some solutions to the problems. We need to teach skills that empower us to be responsible beginning in grammar school and throughout our entire educational experience. Look how well received The Happiness Project was at Yale University. Blame keeps us small. Knowledge is power.

Marketers know that if they can grab hold of your brain chemistry—get you in a state of “hedonic consumption” in which your decisions are driven by pleasure more than utility—they can probably sell you something, whether you “need” it or not. But we can resist advertising’s pull on our emotions. Next time you are presented with the claim that this or that product will make you happy, channel your inner monk, and say five times, out loud: “This will not bring me satisfaction.” Then imagine yourself in six months looking back on this decision, pleased that you made it correctly.

I really like this analysis. It's almost boring in a good way and contains plenty of valuable references and reminders.

This is not an indictment of capitalism, government, or technology. They never satisfy—not because they are malevolent, but rather because they cannot. This poses a real dilemma, not just for society, but for each of us as individuals.