Big Bigness

With Australia's first Costco about to open its jumbo doors in Docklands, the Age's Catherine Deveny surveys the 'false economy' created by our insatiable appetite for bigness:

The more we have, the less we're enjoying it. The hole just gets bigger and that button inside us never turns off, no matter what we buy it, feed it or stuff it with. Obesity is soaring and depression is an epidemic. We're knee deep in mortgage stress, debt slavery and the time poor. And the water is rising.

Abundance takes the value from everything. Nothing seems special any more. And we can't help ourselves because we're just mammals programmed to binge in times of plenty. Going to one of those all-you-can-eat places makes me feel sick. Eat more. It's cheap. We've got heaps! This food means nothing. Pile up your plate. You deserve it. You've paid for it. The more you eat, the more value you'll get.

You go from feeling empty to feeling stuffed, empty and sick. It's a false economy. And it's not making us happy. We don't know what it feels like to be sated any more. We have two settings. Empty or overdosed.