“The severe exploitation of China’s factory workers and the contraction of the American middle class are two sides of the same coin.”

Some observers may take Shell’s book as an elitist rant, though it is not. She does not have a solution to the problem, other than a not-very-realistic call to consumer action, but she leaves no doubt that there is a serious socioeconomic problem involving declining standards of living, beleaguered communities, rising debt and poisoned environments.