“I have very belatedly become aware of a critique of my various comments and writing about the downturny zeitgeist… that my resistance to statements like ‘cheap is the new sexy’ or ‘frugal is the new cool’, somehow adds up to me being in denial about the economy… I do think some of the trend stories suggesting an overnight change in ‘values’ are extremely suspect. But my real problem is that many of these sweeping statements about the zeitgeist suggest consumer behavior — and thus, by extension, human behavior — is solely a function of larger economic and cultural forces. I think such assessments give short shrift to free will itself. Let me put it this way: is your behavior merely a reflection of cultural change, or does your behavior cause cultural change? I know what I think the right answer ought to be.”
Who Knew?