What would you do for £100?

In these economically pressed times, what would you do for $202? 

Wal-Mart seems to be the epicentre of this herd mentality, that left one employee trampled to death. At another Wal-mart in Columbus, Ohio, Ms Nikki Nicely -- aged 19 -- was prepared to give and receive physical violence.

According to the The New York Times, Ms Nicely: "...jumped onto a man’s back and pounded his shoulders when he tried to take a 40-inch Samsung flat-screen television to which she had laid claim. “That’s my TV!” Ms. Nicely shouted. “That’s my TV!” A police officer and security guard intervened, but not before Ms. Nicely took an elbow in the face. In the end, she was the one with the $798 television, marked down from $1,000. “That’s right,” she cried as her adversary walked away. “This here is my TV!”"

What is our life for? What is it worth? 

About £100, it seems. 

Youth crime: Greedy, rude adults 'fuelling teen violence'

"Sometimes as adults we don't model the behaviour we would want youngsters to follow. We live in a greedy culture, we are rude to each other in the street. Children follow that."

As we become more separated from others, as we become more dependent of material things to bring short-term gratification, we grow ever-more angry when we do not get the things we think we deserve.

Marketing sells us the idea that we deserve things, creating need from want. When that is not satisfied we become angry. Is it any wonder our children, who can only learn from example, begin to exhibit behaviour that we already possess.

Spreading the cult of the individual

Africans' new motto: 'Charge it' | csmonitor.com: "She also sees how credit cards might lead to the end of two support groups she belongs to. They're called kiamas - and are part of the communalism that dominates many African cultures. Every month, each member puts $15 into a collective pot. Then, on a rotating basis, one member gets the whole amount and uses it to improve their lives. Otieno has bought carpets, cutlery, and other household items. But someday she might not need the kiama anymore.

'The kiama thing is about relying on each other,' she says, 'but credit cards make you so independent.'"

Where are we going? We are indoctrinated to believe that we do not need others. We rent money with credit cards in order to buy individualism. We're are being turned into sociopaths for the sake of profit.

Steve Breyman: Against the Selfishness of the "Ownership Society"

Steve Breyman: Against the Selfishness of the "Ownership Society"