Actually, the basic key to the whole thing is rather simple:
When one
understands how things work (the "means") then one can work with
them to achieve the required "ends"...... But if one only has
desires ("ends") then one will always be frustrated -because one
doesn't understand the "means" and the way the ends and the
means relate to, and interact with, each other (in sometimes
somewhat complex and paradoxical ways).......
Modern, global, consumerism, is
based on the commercial exploitations of people's
frustrations. That is why it only teaches people how to become
frustrated -and not how to solve their problems.
However, like most things, these
very simple beginnings can lead one into complicated issues in
many different areas of human experience.