The Progress Paradox: A Comparison of Materialism and Capitalism

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I think we all understand that the pursuit of material well-being in and of itself is empty. And so it's an interesting tension, I think, in capitalism between those two realities. Materialism produces many, many non-material benefits, but yet materialism for its own sake is not particularly rewarding. The fact that we're constantly discontent helps make us extremely productive.

Author Gregg Easterbrook talks about the ideas in his latest book, The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse. How has life changed in America over the last century? Is the average person getting ahead or are the rich taking all the gains? Easterbrook argues that life is better for the average American in almost every dimension. The paradox is that despite those gains, we don't seem much happier.