The Mystical Nature Of American Consumption Accounts For Its Joylessness. We Spend A Great Deal Of Time In Stores, But If We Don't Seem To Take Much Pleasure In Our Buying, It's Because We're Engaged In The Acts Of Sacrifice And Self-definition. Abashed In The Presence Of Expensive Merchandise, We Recognize Ourselves . . . As Suppliants Admitted To A Shrine.