Runner,
Much of the stuff in these shopping centers was made by poor people in other countries.

The poor make the stuff which, which is then sold for higher prices in countries such as ours.

This has been given various terms such as "free trade" or "globalisation"

But it is now starting to backfire.

As more countries go under, the rich can no longer buy much.

vanna you write

'Much of the stuff in these shopping centers was made by poor people in other countries.'

I am not sure what your point is. Surely the poor would like their stuff sold in order to improve their lives like millions in Asia have done.

I too think consumerism has gone to far (by that I mean the Planet can't support the consumerism in which the majority of the West indulge) but I certainly don't blame Westfied for the greed of it's customers nor the Gov't for the greed of it's people.

I moved to a rural location, self sufficient for; power (generate and store our own), water (collect and store our own) grow lots of veggies, our own chickens for food and eggs etc because I grew to understand the problem of over consumption and how it related to un-sustainability. Pilger seems to loathe over consumption yet indulges in it and lives amongst it ? Seems perhaps he is suffering some sort of cognitive dissonance or is it simply wants an unsustainable consumerist society similar to one he has in mind ? His actions certainly lend little credence to his argument, to the point I don't even know what he's arguing against. It's much like saying obesity is a real problem with others while munching down a zillion kilojules.

Here's a link to a couple doing something similarly urban wise.
http://www.happyearth.com.au/
Perhaps by providing an example of a solution, instead of just whining about an issue might be a suggestion ?

Here you go, runner.

This is a pertinent example of what vanna is expressing.

People in the third world are often exploited to provide most of the frippery and crap that adorn our palaces of excess....too much!

http://news.change.org/stories/indian-kids-labor-to-make-balloons-for-american-kids-parties

Doesen't say much for parents, Poirot, when they sell their kids
into slave labour.

Oh yesssss,Yabby, how perceptive of you.

It couldn't possibly be the system, could it :)

Once upon a time, Britain had a similar system at the time of a similar industrial revolution. Little children were hired, enslaved and deformed in exactly the same manner because they were "cheap" and they had nimble fingers. The parents of those children had little choice as well and it would have endured if government intervention had not outlawed the practice. Working in toxic and stifling industries for a pittance, making playthings for the West is unconscionable - but globalisation doesn't discriminate - it's all okey-dokey in the shopping malls