Consumer Consumption and the New Wars of Our Time

Which Way Forward?

Consumer Consumption and the New Wars of Our Time

In The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Manly P. Hall warned of a future where materialism would dominate the economic structure, offering security at the cost of the human soul, mind, and body. Today, nearly a century later, his vision seems to have fully manifested — and nowhere is it more visible than in the tariff wars playing out between global powers like the United States and China.

At first glance, these disputes appear to be battles over trade deficits, manufacturing rights, and national security. Yet beneath the surface lies a deeper struggle: the fight to control the flow of material goods that fuel modern economies and, in many ways, define human life itself. Consumer consumption has become the battleground — and the weapon.

China, a manufacturing giant, produces vast quantities of goods consumed across the globe, while the United States, historically a hub of consumption, attempts to recalibrate economic dependencies through tariffs and sanctions. But this is not a war of traditional armies; it is a war over supply chains, intellectual property, and — ultimately — the human craving for more.

It is a different kind of war, one that operates silently through shopping carts, online orders, and economic policy rather than tanks or troops. It is a conflict driven by a system that measures prosperity by the sheer volume of goods moved, bought, and discarded — a system that often overlooks the true needs of human beings for meaning, connection, and inner fulfillment.

Today, societies stand at a junction. We must ask: Which way forward?

Do we continue deepening our dependence on material consumption, allowing it to dictate not only our economies but also our identities? Or do we recognize the danger Hall pointed to — that security gained at the expense of the human soul is a false security, a hollow promise?1

The tariff wars are just one symptom of a larger crisis — a silent erosion of values, where the worth of a person or nation is too often equated with purchasing power rather than human dignity and creative spirit.

The way forward may require more than new trade agreements or economic policies. It may demand a reevaluation of what we value most: not endless consumption, but the cultivation of lives rich in purpose, community, and inner peace.

As we navigate these battles of materialism, the deeper war — for the soul of humanity — remains ours to fight, and ours to win.