[Amuse]

I'd like to point out that supply and demand is the model used for establishing value. Suppliers are well aware that once a dependance on anything is established, value is regulated by supply and demand. If you want higer profits then choke the supply and establish the belief in scarcity. You and many others fall victim to this everyday through consumerism. Take a moment and ask yourself what things in your life you enjoy are wants and which are needs. Everyday we see advertisements on tv, newspapers, billboards, magazines and the internet things we are told we need and after a while we begin to believe the brainwashing.
We grow more food per acre now then ever before, in fact our government pays farmers NOT to grow certain things in order to keep the market from being flooded there by keeping prices high. This IS fact. Other countries governments control their people by controling the food supply. This IS fact. We send food to other parts of the world to stem hunger but it is often never distributed to the people that need it but instead it goes to the wealthy and government people. This IS fact. We have vast oil fields in Alaska that are tapped but we don't use it because we would rather use up somebody elses first. Auto makers would be STUPID to keep making gas guzzeling autos if there was dwindeling oil supplies because they would quickly go out of business.
Socitey is based on consumerism. Economies can't survive without consumerism but people can if they learn that there is little they need and can control their want.