Complaints of lack of consumerism

The Economist is a magazine I look forward to reading when the new print edition becomes available every Friday. I am sure those writing for it are quite adept at understanding the global economic situation. But when I hear them moaning about lack of 'consumption' which is preventing a full turn around in the recession-hit economy, I fail to be inspired by the logic. Perhaps it's the catch-22 situation whereby the current economic crisis in many ways resulted from the lack of regulations on people who spent more than they could possibly pay back but to come out of the depression-like situation, the world needs people to spend more.

Naturally an increase in production will be tied directly to consumer confidence and while it isn't necessarily a 'chicken or egg' situation, perhaps encouraging consumption isn't the best way to break this cycle.

One would be better served to stick to the invisible hand theory presented by Adam Smith. The inefficiencies in the economic sector - be it producers or service providers will be brutally pushed out and force the markets to find a way to both generate production as well as demand. Necessities will determine new solutions. Which makes one wonder if the economic stimulus packages that were churned out in China, USA and Europe were in consonance with market forces or if they were merely an attempt to cover-up the glaring holes that required better regulations. Time will tell.