MATERIALISM;
ADVERTISING

Stimulation is good; overstimulation is a positive evil productive of every kind of physical and mental injury. And overstimulation has in recent years become a recognized part of our civilization. Indeed it is now a necessary part of it. The modern edifice we call our way of life would collapse were it not upheld by the pressure of abnormal stimulation.

The beating heart of our economy is the production and sale of consumer goods. The average person is likely to be a sluggish buyer unless he is needled into buying by high-pressure advertising. Hence the vast amounts spent each year and the tricky methods employed to persuade the public to buy. I think we have reached a place in the United States where the country must be overstimulated to prevent a serious depression. Take the pressure off and sales would probably decline sufficiently to throw the national economy into chaos.

Matthew 6:25–33; Luke 16:10–13

The Warfare of the Spirit, 87.