The Home Front

When pundits and columnists question the economics and marketing of shopping as an economic strategy, you know the war on consumerism has a new front (read the op-ed from today's NY Times by going here:)
It won't be easy to win this war and there will be casualties along the way. After all, there are many businesses and their employees who depend on dumb consumption to keep them going. But don't lose sight of the truth. You will shop and so will everyone else, but you don't need to buy what we don't need. There are other ways for the economic wheels to turn besides having consumers buy for the sake of buying.
Is consumption better than saving.
Are desires and wants the same as needs?