History as conventionally written has been literally the story of men. But if we re-examine our past, taking into account the whole of our history, a very different picture emerges.
Greater material consumption has not brought abut greater happiness, argues World Watch Institute researcher Alan Thein Durning in a critique of the consumer society.
"The Secret of life is to have a task, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for your whole life. It must be something you cannot possibly do."