Air Going Out of the Balloon

What will replace consumption in our daily lives? What will drive the world's economy when Americans' credit well runs dry, when they lose the urge to shop and they stop buying so much stuff? The jury is out. Judith Freeman: What consumes our nation's soul

[in Aug 2001] An economist on the evening news was discussing the economy, then in the midst of a serious slump. The economist looked into the camera and said, "If the American consumer packs it in, the entire global economy is in jeopardy. The American consumer better hang tough, or we're in real trouble."

I don't think I'd ever before quite understood in such stark terms just what beasts of burden we'd become. What the economist said made me realize something I'd never considered — that the entire global economy, as he put it, depended on Americans continuing to consume.

Over the years, that phrase — "the American consumer better hang tough" — has passed through my mind many times. And, each time, what those words conjure is a great herd of donkeys so loaded down with goods that they're staggering beneath the weight.

Now, of course, we're all thinking differently. It's time to pull back. The beast of burden simply can't carry any more. Few Americans have much in the way of savings. Many of us have lived beyond our means. The typical American carries credit card debt of more than $8,000, and credit is tightening. The party is over, and for many, it wasn't even that much fun.

There might be a good side to this. It's as if the consuming fever has broken, if only temporarily. We're disinclined to carry more debt or keep shopping, even if we could, even knowing that the entire global economy might depend on us getting and spending. We're all wondering where this economic meltdown is headed, and how long it might last. And will there be a time when we can hope to be relieved of our burden of hanging tough? Can there be a different kind of engine to drive the world economy other than the endless, often mindless consumption by ordinary Americans? These are the questions I'd like answered. But I'm not holding my breath.