There is more than one value system

Do you ever wonder why listening to politicians, and economists, it seems that everything relating to the common good, hospitals, schools, and so on is valued as negative cost. While on the other hand the language of “consumption” is described as “personal wealth” and “choice”. Does democracy sometimes come to mean the “freedom to buy”?

Do we justify our existence by our ability to spend. This might seem like an odd idea but when you look at our communities it is not far from the truth.

Yet if we look at what we actually need we have much more to keep us happy and to do with our time, than living a life where most things are valued by financial cost.

Collective generousity
Why are we not encouraged to value our public services as an achievement of our collective generosity the same way as our private possessions are used to denote our personal achievements?

How should we value things differently – for the present?