> Sadly, this culture had largely dissipated in a society where so many people first have so much trouble taking care of their own needs.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately, thank you for writing this.

I have a pet theory that selling products and services that reduce people's ability to look after their own needs (either directly or as a side-effect), while marketing that the same product actually improves your life is one of the key business strategies of our generation.