I was born into late capitalism, an economic system that sold me on the notion that I was insufficient so it could sell me on the notion that consumption was the answer to my insufficiency. It’s true that people loved getting fucked up long before capitalism, but it’s also true that one of the core promises of capitalism—transformation through consumption—is another version of the promise addiction makes. Make something of yourself: This is one of the secular articles of faith in the American gospel of productivity. So I spent years making as much as I could, as well as I could.
Capitalism
