People walk along a major shopping street in Manhattan. Supply chain shortages mean that Americans cannot spend as they did in the past. Getty Images

The U.S. economy is built on Americans’ endless desire to buy, which has become conventional wisdom.

Household consumption accounts for approximately 67% of GDP. When the economy is down, we are told that spending is our patriotic duty.

But suddenly, Americans can no longer spend money like they used to. Store shelves are being emptied, and it may take several months to find a car, refrigerator or sofa. If this situation continues, they may need to learn to do nothing-and the frightening thing is that their lives are more like Europeans. This may not actually be a bad thing, because if we reduce our dependence on consumption, the US economy may be healthier.

After all, Americans do not always act like this. We have entered an era of surplus. Our consumption is much more than in the past and much more than in other countries. From 1990 to 2015, per capita consumption increased by about 65%, while in Europe it increased by about 35%. Household consumption accounts for only about 50% of Germany's GDP.

These figures reflect the tremendous changes in American lifestyles. In 1980, the average household size in the United States was 1,700 square feet, and by 2015 it was 2,000 square feet, although the average family size has decreased. In 1980, 15% of households did not have a TV, and now only about 3% of households do not.

In 2015, 40% of American households owned three or more TVs, and 30% of them had an annual income of less than US$40,000. In 1980, only 13% of households owned two or more refrigerators. In 2015, 30% of people did this-including many low-income families.

Since 1980, clothing purchases have increased fivefold, and an average piece of clothing can be thrown away after only seven wears.

During the pandemic, our consumption habits have slowed down, but despite shortages, they have made a comeback.

We have become a shopaholic country for many reasons. We have become a richer country, which means we spend more. Many commodities have become cheaper and easier to obtain. This is partly because technology improves production efficiency.

For shoppers, the Internet makes it easier for them to find more products at the best prices without even leaving home. Another important factor is that we get more things from abroad. Since the 1980s, the share of imports of goods and services in GDP has almost doubled.

There is a lot of trade with countries with lower labor costs such as China and Mexico. Even products made in the United States use foreign parts.

We have experienced the fragility of the global supply chain in the past few years, but when it works (most of the time), it means that the United States can take full advantage of the comparative advantages of trade and provide goods more efficiently and faster with less money. .

The pandemic has revealed the fragility of this ultra-efficient global market. Ports are backed up causing shortages-this is the first time in many Americans' lives.

It is very likely that the port problem will eventually be resolved (we hope). But there are reasons to believe that the era of surplus is over.

Even before the pandemic, the US government provided more subsidies and imposed more tariffs to encourage companies to produce more goods domestically, and the Biden government hopes to expand its efforts to increase flexibility.

This may mean that more goods are produced in the United States, but in the long run, reduced trade often means fewer types of higher-priced goods.

At the same time, the economic relationship between the United States and China has become increasingly uncertain day by day. If the situation deteriorates further, this will also make the United States tend to reduce trade and reduce cheap goods. The future of trade is a big unknown, but if we turn internally, Americans will not be able to maintain the same level of consumption.

Finally, if we are serious about protecting the planet, to be a good global citizen, it takes more than just driving an electric car or installing solar panels. This means less consumption so that we can discard less. Maybe this means using only one refrigerator or avoiding fast, disposable fashion.

Americans tend to overspend or buy cheap alternatives, rather than save money for more durable and better quality goods. This is the availability of cheap goods, more space to store the things we buy, and the cultural function of buying things that can satisfy the empty part of our soul.

Europeans are not necessarily more satisfied, they just find other more environmentally friendly ways to cut off the dark-such as long-distance cycling.