Well, i don't think we should be too hard on ourselves Don, bombarded as we are about the sorts of things we should buy to make our lives complete.
The message of Capitalism is insidious and designed to appeal to our baser instincts ...I will agree with you there..its a powerful message and will take many generation to wash from our psyche.

Then again maybe it wont take so long.
I remember as a child, a society which offered status as a measure of worth, not money.
Doctors, public officials, policemen, builders were given a certain status in that society, money did not enter the equation to any extent, as all in that society we relatively poor.
The society worked pretty well, as every soul was made to feel that they were contributing in one way or another.

To day money is God, and I suppose you are right we invented God; but Capitalism was the catalyst.

The crux of my argument is that lifestyle supported by Capitalism is utterly unsustainable...Ake