Psychology is locked in on the idea that the psyche is comprised of three separate, independent entities called the id, ego, and superego. Imagine three circles that have no overlap. My cat has a more sophisticated psyche than that. The more likely scenario is that the three circles are overlapping, forming a target with the id in the center, surrounded by the ego, which in turn is surrounded by the superego. The problem is that modern day marketing methods are unable to reach the ego. Consequently, many schemes have developed in our society over the years that force people’s psyche into the simple three non-overlapping circle format.
That makes people infinitely susceptible to advertising, which is just what business needs because that means they can sell useless products to gullible people with a minimum wasted on advertising. The only natural defense is a “Nullentropy Sphere” in which the psyche is how it’s supposed to be ~ something so extremely evil that it’s excised from the gene pool at every possible opportunity.
This is not something new. The traditional antidote to these kind of market pressures have been religion. Religious roots have been steadily undermined since the Reformation. Historical roots to religious phenomena have deepened religious zeal, necessitating new methods ~ shallow, “read easy” versions of the Bible, liturgy in lay languages instead of Latin, reform Judaism, secular Islam, and Wicca mysticism. Major strides were made when Freud formalized the three separate entities idea – despite strong resistance from Nietzsche – and then by modern statistical research in advertising, which has been able to plumb the depths of the psyche now that it has been standardized by a combination of science, peer pressure, sociology, and the media.
Another trend that has helped this transition is the popularity of recreational drugs. Alcohol and tobacco and caffeine undermine the last line of defense against people already stressed out from work and family responsibilities. The stalwart holdouts are falling by the boatload to marijuana, ecstasy, and painkiller addictions (oxycontin is heroin, although the media downplays the connection). As the war on terrorism winds down boredom with excessive leisure is setting in, and the survivors have precious little to challenge their minds and keep their psyches free of reformatting pressures.