One thing I never got about 'abundance' as an aspirational trope is that every visitor to the United States already thinks "these people chose abundance." The country is drowning in stuff. There is an army of workers dumping endless packages in front of big weird houses all day, and if you try to order a sandwich at a restaurant they will fry six entire potatoes and throw that on the side.

You can love this lifestyle or hate it, but no one has ever had more things. At the same time, there is shocking poverty and suffering, and even the middle class is visibly desperate and insecure. We already picked abundance. We just didn't select comfort or peace.