To: letters@nytimes.com
Re: T
he "materialistic" interpretation of the American Way of Life
Date: Sat, 13 September 2003 

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

When broaching the subject of the economy, I feel like a 16th Century Copernican facing a room full of Cardinals ("Rapid Growth Seen for U.S. Economy", September 13, 2003).

Are there no Copernicans, only Cardinals (and pious believers), at the NYT?

Will you not lift up your eyes from the Holy Book of Economic Scripture and recognise the limits of material wealth and economic growth? 

Not the poor are the world's biggest problem, but the RICH. Because of the drain and strain we are placing on our planet's limited resources and carrying capacity, and even more importantly, because we act as role models, whose non-sustainable economy and lifestyles billions of others seek to emulate.

If it were just 300 million Americans, our planet might take it. But there are 6 billion others as well . . . . . !

We could have stuck with the Ptolemaic System for a lot longer, but if we stick to our believe in economic growth and the "materialistic" interpretation of the American Way of Life which goes with it, we are ALL dead!