And it's distinguishing this step (with the power of consumerism thrown into the equation) that is breaking the bank.
Dare we open to the piercing pain of greed, of corrupt governmental and legal systems, the tangled mess of politics and power, blind consumerism and image-obsessed pettiness?
Such is the power of Chinese consumerism that, for all the party's disdain, sex shops became more commonplace in urban China than they are in most western cities.
In addition to the well-established "reduce, reuse and recycle," shoppers are using their purchasing power for ethical consumerism.
Then you will fight constant temptation for things... constant consumerism, power, money, sex, peace, a house, children, privacy, simplicity.
Fincher's "Fight Club" tackled the emasculating power of modern consumerism; his "The Social Network" depicted Facebook's sexist creation story as a website founded to rank women by their attractiveness; and his "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" centers on a feminist fantasy heroine who can hack, both digitally and with knives.
Power imbalance and consumerism continues to be the norm, especially among marginalised communities living in backward areas, where education and occupation levels are lower.
They were all making art that combined elements of Pop and Conceptualism with social concerns about consumerism, political power and gender.
"I think of them as a kind of fragment, a glimpse, into what our reality is," said Ms. Meckseper, 47, whose work often operates at the intersection of culture, consumerism and power.
For China, his pledge to maintain fiscal responsibility, which would preserve the dollar as a haven for foreign cash, comes with a warning: do not count on "voracious" American consumerism to power your future growth.
