The lifestyle you ordered, is currently out of stock

The bulk of the economic model that the "Western World" has chose to embrace for more than half a century now, strives on a number of interdependent factors, but none as striking as its need for constant growth. Making an ever increasing amount of money, year in and year out, has been - and as far as I am concerned still is - the norm for all product making or service providing profit-making enterprises.

(feat. Street art) Banksy, the London street artist, whose own profile has gone from outlaw graffiti beatnik to respected fine artist with numerous gallery exhibitions, put up this piece on Dec.2011.

Unfortunately, in a slow growing system in terms of the absolute number of consumers out there, the only way to achieve such rates of profit or sales volume increase every year, is by "recycling" ^[1] the available products and services. That is why "consumerism" was born, and the need of consumerism to strive in each and everyone of you, has in turn given birth to the "lifestylin" esoteric urge that you feel ; or better say, bombarded everyday to feel.

"Lifestyle" will never fail, and shall continue to work in favour of our economic system, in spite of the fact that many of us might get lost to "neo-poverism" or local economies will perish on the process. The truth is that lifestyle, capitalizes on people's greed and/or their need to prove that they are better or different, to the others around them. And unless anyone can point towards the opposite, greed shall always be around, and I bet in abundance as well.

Don't worry, the world will get out of this slump its in. For all it seems, new consumers cannot be created to the rate that all money-producing players wished for, so I guess it is a matter of time that local and global markets will find a new point of equilibrium, basically a point were they will not take it anymore, and push for their chance to return to prior money-making figures. This may happen however, with you, or without you.

"Sorry ! The lifestyle you ordered is currently out of stock".

Nothing more ironic I guess, for the people of Island, or for the vast majority of the middle class of PIIGS in Europe, or for Americans, Japanese, and in general anyone who loses job, income, status or even his/her life, as a result of this global crisis, whether an ardent follower of lifestylin, or not.

the CVRATOR

^[1] the term "recycling" is used here both literally, as well as to imply the replacement of obsolete products by new ones, or the constant offering of differentiated products, etc.