I'm trying to understand the specifics of your first question and how it relates to my post before reyplying at length, Carolina. Do you mean to ask if capitalism itself, as a political ideology, is sustainable for society?
Secondly, we weren't as a whole commenting specifically "on the way Americans live" so I wouldn't want to speak for the other designers who were also in attendance, several of whom are American citizens. (Myself, I'm Canadian!) But a few times, for sure, the topic of "mass consumerism" came up, and I think we all agreed that mindless mass consumption (if one can spend money, one does, just because) is not sustainable, but that there is such a thing as "conscious consumption" (if one can spend money, one does, for carefully considered reasons, which run the gamut from beauty to function to eco-mindfulness to social need, and combinations of all of the above). We'd like to encourage the latter - for Americans, and all the rest of us global citizens.
