Watch the introductory video (only 7 minutes!) to get a good taste of what Howard has to say about consumerism and materialism.

Materialism. Consumerism. Words with bad reputations, invoking images of conspicuous consumption and squandered resources. But what if our innate compulsion to endlessly produce and consume is actually a natural and, in fact, critical part of a higher evolutionary process?

In this Voices talk recorded at The Next Stage in New York, the ever-provocative Howard Bloom, author of Global Brain and The Lucifer Principle, argues that consumerism, with its inherent drive to invent, compete, create, and redefine ourselves and our world, is actually a primary force behind the development of human civilization. Our urge to make and acquire new things shapes not just the material realm, but also the scientific, philosophical, theological, and artistic. In Bloom's eyes, our consumer culture, despite its many problems, is vital, not venal—a fundamental and necessary creative force in this vibrant evolutionary explosion called life.

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