'...representing the United States and the United Arab Emirates. They consume simply because they can without improving their quality of life any further.'

Actually, at least in the case of the United States, arguably that mindless consumption leads to a lower quality of life.

"Actually, at least in the case of the United States, arguably that mindless consumption leads to a lower quality of life."

I think that mindless population growth in the United States leads to a lower quality of life. Imagine if we could wave a magic wand and go back to having only 200 million people like in 1970. Transportation would be so much faster and housing would consume so much less of one's income. But as it stands now, we will add another 100 million people in the next 30 years. Apparently, as hard as it is to believe, Americans want to be more crowded.